India Battles A Catastrophic Wave Of Covid-19 Infections
YOU South Africa|13 May 2021
As India battles a catastrophic wave of Covid-19 infections, countries across the world are stepping in to help
Kim Abrahams
India Battles A Catastrophic Wave Of Covid-19 Infections

PEOPLE begging in the street for oxygen, collapsing and dying on hospital doorsteps because there simply are no beds available. Parking lots being turned into makeshift hospitals to cope with the influx of patients and bodies being burnt in pyres outside crematoriums because facilities are too full of the dead.

The situation in India can be likened to hell on Earth and the world is looking on in horror. The country broke global records by recording daily increases of more than 400 000 Covid-19 infections. Daily deaths are exceeding 3 600 but the official toll is believed to be far higher.

Mutations and variants are adding to the agony, ripping through communities and leaving hundreds of thousands of people gasping for breath.

“The sick can’t get into hospitals, the dead can’t get into crematoria,” says Aatish Taseer, an Indian journalist and novelist. “The atmosphere in my hometown of New Delhi is bordering on apocalyptic.”

Nurses and doctors are working back-to-back shifts. Some have relatives in the same hospital but the pressure is so intense they don’t have time to visit them.

India is now the second-most affected country in the world after the US in terms of active cases, tracking upwards of three million.

“The situation is critical,” says a doctor at New Delhi’s Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital. “The next two weeks are going to be hell.”

Trauma and anguish reign in the vast country of more than 1,3 billion people. There’s fear lurking in every corner and hospital halls are horror shows.

Denne historien er fra 13 May 2021-utgaven av YOU South Africa.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra 13 May 2021-utgaven av YOU South Africa.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA YOU SOUTH AFRICASe alt
BALLON IN THE BAG
YOU South Africa

BALLON IN THE BAG

Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
IT WAS ALL A LIE
YOU South Africa

IT WAS ALL A LIE

A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
YOU South Africa

'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'

After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country

time-read
10+ mins  |
14 November 2024
AGREE TO DISAGREE
YOU South Africa

AGREE TO DISAGREE

Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
PAUSE THE CLOCK
YOU South Africa

PAUSE THE CLOCK

Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
MPOOMY ON TOP
YOU South Africa

MPOOMY ON TOP

We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
YOU South Africa

MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME

Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
MATT THE RECLUSE
YOU South Africa

MATT THE RECLUSE

A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024
A LEAP OF FAITH
YOU South Africa

A LEAP OF FAITH

After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love

time-read
5 mins  |
14 November 2024
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
YOU South Africa

THEY'RE MY KIDS!

This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it

time-read
4 mins  |
14 November 2024