We’ve all seen or heard about it by now India collectively struggling to breathe under the latest crushing wave of COVID-19. Sons and daughters running between hospitals, trying to find a bed for a sick parent. Family members taking to social media to find an oxygen tank as a loved one gasps for breath. Orphaned children left behind and now at risk of trafficking. While most of us have seen it in the news, many of us in Canada have heard the painful stories directly from Indian family members and friends.
The exponential increase in COVID-19 cases in India – a country representing almost one fifth of the planet’s population – is alarming. In the past two months, the number of new cases grew from around 18,000 to more than 410,000 per day. In the past 24 hours, India registered about half of all new COVID-19 cases worldwide. There are significant risks of further virus mutation and global spread.