India now home to world's worst COVID-19 outbreak

As the United States officially relaxes its guidance on mask-wearing for vaccinated Americans, the battle is still ongoing in India. The surge in the South Asian nation is being spurred by new variants of the coronavirus.

Relatives mourning next to pyres of Covid-19 deceased people at a crematorium in New Delhi. Source: LightRocket

Pushed to the brink of collapse, India is now home to the world's worst ongoing coronavirus outbreak. India's Health Ministry says every hour, 115 Indians are succumbing to the disease. 

With over 17.6 million cases already reported since the start of the pandemic last year, experts fear the real number could be up to 30 times higher — meaning more than half a billion cases. 

The Red Cross is now helping India gain control of a record wave of infections and deaths that's overwhelmed its health care system.  

People are taking matters into their own hands, doing what they say the government should have done a long time ago. 

On top of medical oxygen running out in hospitals, there are shortages of space in intensive care wards, and nearly all ventilators are in use. 

The United States says it's working to relieve the suffering, and President Joe Biden is sending a range of help, in addition to drugs.

We are sending the actual mechanical parts that are needed for the machinery they have to build a vaccine. We're also discussing, I've discussed with him when we'll be able to send actual vaccines to India, which would be my intention to do. The problem is right now we have to make sure we have other vaccines like Novavax and others coming on, probably. And I think we'll be in a position to be able to share, to share vaccines as well as know-how. When we were in a bind at the very beginning, India helped us.

 

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