The Covid Catastophe of India: Even the wealthy can't escape anymore

[Supersonic 49,376]

 

Crematories are so full of bodies, it’s as if a war just happened. Fires burn around the clock. Many places are holding mass cremations, dozens at a time, and at night, in certain areas of New Delhi, the sky glows.

India is now recording more infections per day — as many as 350,000 — than any other country has since the pandemic began, and that’s just the official number, which most experts think is a vast underestimation.

The infections have spread so fast that hospitals have been completely swamped. People are turned away by the thousands. Medicine is running out. So is lifesaving oxygen. The sick have been left stranded in interminable lines at hospital gates or at home, literally gasping for air.

As a foreign correspondent for nearly 20 years, I’ve covered combat zones, been kidnapped in Iraq and been thrown in jail in more than a few places. This is unsettling in a different way. 

In India, as elsewhere, the wealthy can pad the blow of many crises. But this time it’s different.

A well-connected friend activated his entire network to help someone close to him, a young man with a bad case of Covid. My friend’s friend died. No amount of pull could get him into a hospital. There were just too many other sick people.

“I tried everything in my power to get this guy a bed, and we couldn’t,” my friend said. “It’s chaos.” His feelings were raw. “This is a catastrophe. This is murder.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/world/asia/India-delhi-covid-cases.html

[Jill 31,812]

This is what happens when your central planning isn't strong enough. In order for a country to survive COVID in the best shape possible, it must have a centralized decisionmaking unity that has the authority and right to impose restrictions when and wherever it's necessary to do so. This situation is extremely sad. So is Brazil's, and both of them are lacking the proper centralization and scientific backing to their decisions. Countries are afraid to go hard, but that's the only thing they can do if they want to keep their citizens from dying.

[Lucas 31,117]

That's tragic... I hope if we know another pandemic during our lives, we will IMMEDIATLY take the most extra measures and not play around like we did with Covid.

Also, this got me wondering how many people would be dead if this virus appeared in the early 1900's or something.

[Jill 31,812]

2 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Also, this got me wondering how many people would be dead if this virus appeared in the early 1900's or something.

The Spanish flu is mildly comparable. It started in 1918 and ended in 1920, with 50 million+ deaths in 2 years compared to 3.14 million deaths in one year and a half of COVID, more or less.

[Robo Ga 15,614]

The scale of the tragedy we are living through is unfathomable 

[Modern Ecstacy 3,888]

I am from India.

I don't live in India anymore, but since this whole 2nd wave started in India, it's been the only topic of conversation. 

I have been watching all international news report on this catastrophe. Not enough beds, not enough oxygen, not enough ambulances, no space for dead bodies in morgue. Dead bodies are piling on the side of roads. 

It is completely tragic and apocalyptic.

Please pray for us 

[gumzy3000 7,898]

Maybe if the racist, fascist, Trump-loving government their focused more on COVID and less on creating religious tension between Hindus and Muslims then maybe they would not be in this position. Sad because the regular people will suffer the most from the lack of support from government. 

[BUtterfield 8 41,818]

Didn’t they have like a festival a few weeks ago?

[franminervini 17,057]

5 minutes ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

Didn’t they have like a festival a few weeks ago?

Yes, for a month if I am not wrong. I've see  pictures and everyone without mask, no distance between them... 

[RahrahWitch 6,985]

4 minutes ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

Didn’t they have like a festival a few weeks ago?

Yes, I read that sadly there was a public narrative that the country had beaten covid but It's a result of multiple things such as poor government and public response, the new variant and the vaccine inequality.  

[CyanDante 6,238]

50 minutes ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

Didn’t they have like a festival a few weeks ago?

Unfortunately yes. Those festivals were even promoted by our Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of that particular state.  It has been such a tragic and unfathomable catastrophe that it almost feels as if they wanted this to happen. We even had month long election campaign in our state, where our PM was heard telling at an event that he is extremely elated to see such a large turnout.

The right wing's target population has always been the elite and rich who basically don't have a purpose other time spend their whole lives instigating religious tension within the country. 

The hospital beds scarcity, the oxygen scarcity is real. Few days ago, bodies were being burnt in a parking lot as the crematorium grounds were full. If there are 800 people dying, they are reporting 80 deaths. And the socio economically backward are suffering the post. Who literally don't access to anything. 4 patients are given like one bed and one oxygen cylinder. At least people like us can share messages on social media to get a lead for a bed or medicine or oxygen. I have members in my family literally struggling just to secure one bed or one oxygen cylinder for multiple people. 

And now the government has asked twitter to take down tweets which are either criticizing it or letting people know the real dire situation of the country.

[CyanDante 6,238]

48 minutes ago, RahrahWitch said:

Yes, I read that sadly there was a public narrative that the country had beaten covid but It's a result of multiple things such as poor government and public response, the new variant and the vaccine inequality.  

The cases did drop down to less than 9000 cases in February for the whole country. And people literally stopped caring  Now the new variant is airborne and way more fatal. And people are dropping like flies because there is an extensive lack of oxygen in the country. 

[Jase 13,417]

My heart breaks for India. Truly the stuff of nightmares.

[Linus Gaga 8,499]

"NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A Hindu group hosted a cow urine drinking party on Saturday as they believe it wards off the coronavirus, as many Hindus consider the cow sacred and some drink cow urine believing it has medicinal properties."

 

"We have been drinking cow urine for 21 years, we also take bath in cow dung. We have never felt the need to consume English medicine," said Om Prakash, a person who attended the party."

 

Again, what do you expect 

[Delulu Rogers 7,662]

3 hours ago, CyanDante said:

 Now the new variant is airborne and way more fatal.

it's airborne???