New Delhi recorded a new daily record of 24,000 COVID-19 infections on Saturday, as the Prime Minister warned of a "dismal" battle against the virus, with major Indian cities announcing a general lockdown over the weekend to curb the spread. India is now leading the world in the number of infections, having reported over two million cases last month, while the International Red Cross stated that the speed of the virus's spread in South Asia is "truly frightening."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed that it is impossible to know when this new malignant surge will peak. He added, "The situation is bleak and concerning," alerting about the shortage of oxygen and hospital beds. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting late Saturday specifically to discuss the COVID-19 crisis after India registered 234,000 new daily cases, a number three times that of daily infections in the United States, pushing the nation's total cases beyond 14.5 million, along with 1,341 deaths that raised the total death toll to 175,649.
Modi ordered new measures to increase hospital beds and expedite the delivery of oxygen and antiviral medications like Remdesivir. After a national lockdown last year spurred an economic downturn, the Indian government has sought to avoid another lockdown. However, Delhi joined Mumbai in ordering the shutdown of all non-essential services. The city appeared deserted, such as the Red Fort which usually packs thousands. Guard Anil Dayan remarked, "Not a single person has come."
Police checked the few cars on the roads of the city that is home to more than 20 million people, where all restaurants, shopping centers, and gyms were closed. Kejriwal stated, "There is no need to panic. All essential services will be available over the weekend," adding, "If the situation worsens, we will take necessary steps in the coming days to save your lives," hinting at a possible extension of the lockdown.
The Maharashtra region, which includes Mumbai, along with Gujarat and Karnataka, have imposed movement restrictions. Uttar Pradesh, home to about 240 million people, ordered a lockdown on Sunday. The northern state of Uttarakhand imposed a ban on gatherings of more than two hundred people, except for participants in the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar. However, pressure has begun to mount to halt the bathing rituals that attracted around 25 million people since January, including 4.6 million this week alone.
More than 1,600 people tested positive for COVID-19 within just three days this week, prompting one of the major Hindu factions to declare the end of the festival. West Bengal conducted the final round of its elections, where voters queued outside polling stations, and parties organized massive rallies in recent weeks, raising significant concerns about virus transmission.
Hospitals across India have reported an increasing shortage of oxygen and medications on a large scale, forcing some to pay exorbitant prices to obtain them from the black market. Social media has been filled with heartbreaking stories from people seeking help for relatives needing hospital care. One message in a Delhi neighborhood WhatsApp group read, "I lost my cousin on Saturday. He was not admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke. I tried four hospitals."
India's vaccination campaign for its 1.3 billion residents also faces challenges, as 117 million vaccines have been administered so far while supplies have begun to dwindle, according to local authorities. Udaya Raghmi from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies stated, "This is a call for the world to pay attention. Vaccines must be available to everyone everywhere, rich and poor, to overcome this terrible pandemic," describing this wave in South Asia as "truly frightening." He added, "We must double our efforts to contain this disease as many lives are at risk."
