Indian hospitals struggle to cope with virus surge
Hospitals in India are near “total collapse” as the country’s Covid-19 crisis spirals out of control amid a second wave of the killer disease, doctors are warning.
Record numbers of new cases are putting extreme pressure on hospital beds while oxygen supplies run dangerously low across vast swathes of the country.
In Delhi, four hospitals were shut down earlier this week after oxygen tanks were exhausted, leading to some of the biggest private and government hospitals to put out desperate calls for replacements on social media.
On Saturday, India reported 346,786 cases in the previous 24 hours, setting a world record for a second consecutive day, official figures show. Some 2,264 people died after contracting the killer disease, up from 2,263 in the previous 24 hours.
Elsewhere, Japan has declared a targetted state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, and two other regions as cases continue to rise. The measures come into effect on Sunday and will last until at least 11 May.
‘Every hospital is running out’ of oxygen
“Every hospital is running out (of oxygen). We are running out,” Dr Sudhanshu Bankata, executive director of Batra Hospital, a leading hospital in Delhi, told New Delhi Television channel.
The government has ramped up its efforts to get medical oxygen to hospitals using special Oxygen Express trains, air force planes and trucks to transport tankers.
But the crisis is deepening, amid criticism of the ministers’ response and allegations that the scarce supplies of oxygen had been diverted by local officials to hospitals in their areas.
The supreme court told prime minister Narendra Modi’s government last week that it wanted a national plan for the supply of oxygen and essential drugs for the treatment of coronavirus patients.
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 10:15
Six patients die in India hospital due to lack of oxygen supplies
Six people, five of them Covid-19 positive, died at a private hospital in Amritsar, north India, due to a shortage of oxygen, a medic has said.
Sunil Devgan, managing director of the Neelkanth Hospital, told The Indian Express he repeatedly asked the district administration for supplies but got “no response.”
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 10:00
India is a ‘devastating reminder’ of what virus can do, WHO chief warns
India’s second Covid-19 wave is a “devastating reminder” of what the virus can do, the World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned.
Local media reported on Saturday that 20 patients died overnight due to a lack of oxygen supply in the critical care unit of Jaipur Golden hospital in Rohini, Delhi.
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 09:45
Pakistan on Saturday reported its highest COVID-19 death toll in a single day
Authorities reported 157 deaths, bringing the overall fatalities to 16,999.
A total of 5,908 additional cases pushed the toll to 790,016, as authorities complain of routine violations of social distancing and mask-wearing rules.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced that military troops will be called to help police enforce the restrictions in public places.
Authorities also decided to keep educational institutions closed until the situation improved.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a talk show Saturday that despite the increasing cases and deaths, Pakistan’s situation was better than in neighboring India.
He said a planeload of 500,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccines arrived on Friday.
Patients suffering from Covid-19 receive medical treatment at a hospital in Quetta, provincial capital of Balochistan province, Pakistan, 23 April 2021.
(EPA)
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 09:30
‘We need powerful measures’ to reduce spread — Japan minister
Announcing a state of emergency over rising Covid cases, the minister in charge of Japan’s pandemic response said “powerful measures” are needed to reduce transmission of the disease.
Yasutoshi Nishimura added: “We absolutely have to limit the movement of people, and we have to do it decisively.”
Japan has declared a third state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas amid a coronavirus resurgence just three months ahead of the Olympics.
Under the measures, restaurants, bars and karaoke parlours serving alcohol will be forced to close, as will shopping centres, department stores, theme parks, theatres and museums, while big sporting events will be held without spectators.
Restaurants that do not serve alcohol and public transportation services will be asked to close early.
Schools will stay open, but universities will be advised to return to online classes.
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 09:11
Indian hospital provider issues SOS alarm over oxygen supplies
A major healthcare provider in India has raised an SOS alarm over oxygen supplies.
Max Healthcare has a network of 12 hospitals and five medical facilities in north and west India.
It says it has less than two hour’s worth of oxygen supply left.
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 08:59
Patients are coming in with their own oxygen, doctor says
Some Covid-19 patients in India are arriving at emergency rooms with their own oxygen supplies amind a supply crisis in hospitals, a doctor has said.
Dr Atul Gogia, a consultant at the Sir Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi, said hospitals are rapidly filling up amid a surge in cases.
He told the BBC: “We do not have that many oxygen points. Whatever oxygen points are there, they’re full.
“Patients are coming in with their own oxygen cylinders or without oxygen. We want to help them but there are not enough beds and not enough oxygen points even to supply them oxygen if it is there.”
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 08:46
Restrictions on outdoor gatherings eased in Wales
More people from different households can meet outdoors in Wales in the latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Six people from six households are allowed to gather outside from Saturday.
The total does not include children under 11 or carers from those households.
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 08:28
Japan declares state of emergency in Tokyo just months before Olympics
Japan has declared a third state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas amid a coronavirus resurgence just three months ahead of the Olympics.
My colleague Chiara Giordano has the details:
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 08:16
India’s healthcare system reels as Covid ravages country
Closed hospitals, patients told to go elsewhere, people dying as they wait for treatment. India’s healthcare system has crumbled under the strain of a second wave.
My colleague Shweta Sharmain reports from Delhi:
Matt Mathers24 April 2021 08:14
