Foreign aid trickles in as India's infections reach catastrophic levels
The first emergency medical supplies trickled into Covid-stricken India on Tuesday as part of a global campaign to staunch a catastrophic wave of infections, with the United States also pledging to export millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation warned that people were rushing unnecessarily to hospital, exacerbating the crisis, which has been caused by mass gatherings, more contagious variants and low vaccination rates,.
India's infection and death rates are growing exponentially, overwhelming hospitals, in stark contrast to some wealthier Western nations that are starting to ease restrictions.
India recording over 350,000 new infections on Tuesday, with the official figure likely an undercount.
Crates of ventilators and oxygen concentrators from Britain were unloaded at a Delhi airport early Tuesday, the first emergency medical supplies to arrive in the country. (See image below)
Hospitals across the country have been suffering from severe shortages of oxygen and many have turned away patients.
Elsewhere in the capital images showed smoke billowing from dozens of pyres lit inside a parking lot that has been turned into a makeshift crematorium.
"People are just dying, dying and dying," said Jitender Singh Shanty, who is coordinating the cremation of around 100 bodies a day at the site in the east of the city.
"If we get more bodies then we will cremate on the road. There is no more space here."
The United States, France, Germany, Canada and the World Health Organization have all promised to rush supplies to India.
President Joe Biden announced on Monday the United States would send up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine abroad.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the recipient countries had not yet been decided and that the administration was still formulating its distribution plan.
But India appeared to be a leading contender after Mr Biden spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi – whose Hindu-nationalist government is under fire for allowing mass gatherings such as religious festivals and political rallies in recent weeks.
"India was there for us, and we will be there for them," Mr Biden tweeted after the call with Modi, referencing India's support for the United States when it was enduring the worst of its Covid crisis.
The WHO is providing critical equipment and supplies to India, including 4,000 oxygen concentrators, which only require an energy source, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.
Less than 15 per cent of people infected with COVID-19 actually need hospital care and even fewer will need oxygen, he said.
"Currently, part of the problem is that many people rush to the hospital (also because they do not have access to information/advice), even though home-based care monitoring at home can be managed very safely," Jasarevic said.
Community-level centres should screen and triage patients and provide advice on safe home care, while information is also made available via hotlines or dashboards, he said.
France also said it would send eight oxygen production units, as well as oxygen containers and respirators, to India.
However many nations have also sought to close borders to travellers from India, fearful of a variant that appears to be one of the drivers of the surge.
Australia on Tuesday became the latest nation to cut all passenger air travel with India, suspending flights until at least May 15.
Among the Australians still in the country are a host of high-profile cricketers playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League, which has attracted criticism for continuing during the crisis.
Before the ban was announced, News Corp reported that batsman Chris Lynn of the Mumbai Indians had requested the Australia cricket board put on a chartered flight home for the players once the IPL finishes.
"I know there are people worse off than us... We are not asking for short cuts and we signed up knowing the risks," Lynn said. "But it would be great to get home as soon as the event is over."
