A “tsunami” of Covid-19 infections saw India set a new global record for the fourth consecutive day as positive patients suffocated from a lack of oxygen amid hospital shortages.
The crisis deepened on Saturday as health officials recorded a further 349,691 cases of the disease and 2,767 more deaths, with mass crematoriums and funeral pyres burning in the capital, New Delhi and vast swathes of the country.
India's total number of infections stands at nearly 17 million and deaths at 192,311, although experts fear the true figure is likely to be much higher and infections are yet to peak. In the last month alone, daily cases have gone up eight times and deaths by ten times.
Extreme pressure on hospital beds forced medics to turn some patients away, resulting in some people dying while waiting in queues for treatment. Others perished from a lack of oxygen as supplies reached dangerous levels or were completely exhausted.
On Sunday, prime minister Narendra Modi said India had been “shaken” by a coronavirus “storm” as he called on members of the public to come forward to get vaccinated when called. New Dehli’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal extended the city’s lockdown until 3 May.
Elsewhere, Germany faced tough lockdown restrictions until June as cases continue to rise despite a federal government clampdown. On Sunday, finance minister Olaf Scholz said he did not expect moves to ease curbs before the end of May.
