(GNB Desk)- -India on Saturday recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a day for the first time as more states-imposed lockdowns in a desperate bid to halt the devastating new COVID-19 surge.
India recorded over 400 thousand new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours on Saturday. Out of these, over 3.7 million cases are currently active while over 17.9 million people have recovered. With 4,187 new deaths, the toll now stands at over 238 thousand. At least 14 states are reporting cases in five figures. Maharashtra reported about 54,000 cases, Karnataka had nearly 49,000, while Kerala had over 38,000.
Morgues and crematoriums have struggled to handle the number of dead, and makeshift funeral pyres burn in parks and car parks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for his handling of an acute oxygen shortage, though the government says it is doing all it can.
Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a letter to Modi late on Friday that Tamil Nadu’s medical oxygen demand could double in the next two weeks.
“The availability of oxygen in Tamil Nadu is very, very critical,” Stalin said, adding 13 patients died in a hospital on the outskirts of Chennai because of the lack of oxygen.
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress Party, called on Modi to order a national lockdown or the spread could be “devastating” for India and other countries.
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved an anti-Covid oral drug developed by DRDO in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for emergency use, the Union Defence Ministry Saturday said. A clinical trial showed that the drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients, reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.
The Supreme Court on Saturday constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to assess and recommend the need and distribution of oxygen to the states and Union Territories. The ruling came after 24 COVID-19 patients died in a government hospital on Monday. It’s unclear how many of them died due to the lack of oxygen, but an investigation is ongoing.
Much of the focus in recent weeks has been on northern India, led by New Delhi, where television stations have broadcast images of patients lying on stretchers outside hospitals and of mass funeral pyres that burn throughout the night.
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