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May 20, 2021
published at 1:39 AMReuters
Lilaben Gautambhai Modi, 80, wearing an oxygen mask, sits inside an ambulance as she waits to enter a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), in Ahmedabad, India, May 5, 2021.
Reuters
Nearly two-thirds of people tested in India have shown exposure to Covid-19, a chain of private laboratories said on Wednesday (May 19), indicating a runaway spread of the virus as the daily death toll rose to a record 4,529.
India reported 267,334 new daily infections on Wednesday, taking its tally to 25.5 million, the world s second highest after the United States, with a death toll of 283,248, health ministry data showed.
“Phase 3 is inevitable, given the high levels of circulating virus,” Raghavan said at a news briefing in New Delhi. “But it is not clear on what timescale this Phase 3 will occur. . We should prepare for new waves.”
India’s crisis is aggravated by a critical lack of oxygen needed to treat critically ill patients, along with the raw materials needed to manufacture doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. While India is home to the Serum Institute of India, the world s largest vaccine manufacturer, only 2 per cent of the country s 1.3 billion people have been vaccinated, according to local reports.
The government has been ordered by the Supreme court to submit a plan to meet oxygen needs in New Delhi hospitals by Thursday.
The Tablet May 6, 2021
Lilaben Gautambhai Modi, 80, wearing an oxygen mask, sits inside an ambulance as she waits to enter a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amid the spread of the disease in Ahmedabad, India, May 5, 2021. As India faces a massive surge in new infections and deaths caused by COVID-19, Pope Francis said he was praying for all those affected by the huge health emergency. (Photo: CNS/Amit Dave, Reuters)
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) As India faces a massive surge in new infections and deaths caused by COVID-19, Pope Francis said he was praying for all those affected by the huge health emergency.