NEW DELHI – New Delhi today went into a weekend lockdown as India faces a ferocious new Covid-19 wave, with more than 200,000 daily cases and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds.
Hopes that South Asian countries might have beaten the pandemic have been dashed with India seeing over two million infections this month alone, and Bangladesh and Pakistan imposing shutdowns.
India’s per capita rates remain low by international comparison, raising the prospect that infection numbers – possibly fuelled by a virulent new “double mutant” – could explode further.
After a national lockdown a year ago led to hundreds of deaths and one of the worst slumps of any major economy, the Indian government is desperate to avoid a second stoppage.
Many states are clamping down, however, including hotspot Maharashtra, industry-heavy Gujarat and IT hub Bangalore’s home state of Karnataka, although restrictions are less onerous than last year’s.
Uttar Pradesh state, home to some 240 million people, yesterday announced that all villages and cities will be under lockdown for one day tomorrow.
In the capital here, which has overtaken Mumbai as the worst-hit Indian city, restaurants, malls, gyms and spas are shut for the weekend.
Weddings can go ahead, though, with guests limited to 50, while a maximum of 20 people can attend funerals. Movie theatres can open with one-third capacity.
“Don’t panic. All essential services will be available through the weekend,” said Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the city of 25 million people.
Spread by devotees feared
Similarly, the northern state of Uttarakhand has restricted gatherings to 200 people – but exempted the vast ongoing Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela.
The gathering in Haridwar has attracted as many as 25 million people since January, including some 4.6 million this week alone, with most people ignoring Covid-19 guidelines.
One seer died of the virus on Thursday, and 80 other holy men have tested positive.
Experts fear that the millions of devotees will now take Covid-19 back to their hometowns and villages.
Election rallies are also going ahead in the eastern state of West Bengal, with Home Minister Amit Shah attending two roadshows and one public meeting yesterday alone.
Rise in young coronavirus patients
Hospitals are running short of oxygen and coronavirus medicines such as remdesivir, prompting desperate people to pay exorbitant rates on the black market.
Social media is full of horror stories about desperate calls to help a loved one needing hospital treatment for Covid-19 or other complaints.
And in a disturbing new trend, doctors told AFP that they have seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients aged under 45, including children.
“Last year, there were practically no children presenting symptoms,” said Khusrav Bajan, a consultant at Mumbai’s P.D. Hinduja National Hospital.
India’s drive to vaccinate its 1.3 billion people has also hit obstacles, with just 117 million shots administered so far and stocks running low, according to some local authorities. – AFP, April 17, 2021
