India recorded the largest daily number of COVID-19 cases in the world on Friday for the second consecutive day, surpassing 330,000, while the overwhelmed healthcare system struggles to accommodate the patients and address recurring incidents. Deaths from the virus surged to a record level in the past 24 hours, with the health ministry reporting 2,263 fatalities.
Officials in north and west India, including the capital New Delhi, warned that most hospitals have reached full capacity and are at risk of running out of oxygen. This increase in cases coincided with a fire in a hospital in a Mumbai suburb treating COVID-19 patients, which resulted in the death of 13 patients on Friday, marking the latest incident involving a facility overcrowded with COVID-19 patients in India.
On Wednesday, 22 COVID-19 patients died in a government hospital in Maharashtra after oxygen supplies were cut off due to a leak in the tank, while at least nine patients died in a fire at a Mumbai hospital on March 26.
India reported 332,730 new daily infections on Friday, compared to 314,835 on Thursday, when infections hit a record surpassing the previously highest daily count recorded in the United States in January, which was 297,430 cases.
Medical oxygen supplies and hospital beds have become scarce, with large hospitals putting up notices stating that they have no capacity for more patients, and police have been deployed to secure oxygen supplies.
Max Healthcare, which operates hospital networks in north and west India, issued an emergency plea on Twitter on Friday requesting urgent oxygen supplies for its hospitals in Delhi.
India, a major vaccine producer, has commenced a vaccination campaign, but only a small fraction of the population has been vaccinated so far. Authorities announced that vaccines will be available for everyone over the age of 18 starting May 1, but experts say there are not enough doses to vaccinate the eligible 600 million individuals.
