NEW DELHI (INDIA) – India reported over 17,000 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, pushing the country’s tally above 500,000, federal health ministry data showed on Saturday. Infections are surging in major cities, including the capital New Delhi.
India has the world’s fourth-biggest outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19, which is below only the United States, Brazil and Russia, according to a Reuters tally.
Cases are slated to rise steadily in India. Experts advising the federal government say the authorities should now prioritise reducing mortality over containing the spread of the virus.
“Our focus should be on preventing deaths and not really getting bogged down because of the numbers. Numbers are going to increase,” said Dr Manoj Murhekar, a member of India’s main coronavirus task force and director of the National Institute of Epidemiology.
The COV-IND-19 study group, led by Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistics professor from the University of Michigan in the US, forecasts that India could witness between 770,000 and 925,000 cases by July 15.
As infections mount swiftly and hospitals become stretched, some cities like New Delhi are scrambling to build temporary facilities with thousands of beds to quarantine and treat patients.
The city with a population of around 20 million people has only around 13,200 beds for COVID-19 patients and will add at least 20,000 in coming weeks, with some facilities manned by army and paramilitary doctors.
“We have to ensure those who really require treatment aren’t denied services,” said Dr Giridhar R. Babu, an epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India who is advising the southern state of Karnataka.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
