Health workers and relatives wearing personal protection equipment move the body of a COVID-19 fatality at a mortuary in New Delhi, India, on April 21, 2021.Photo: Amarjeet Kumar Singh/Anadolu Agency via Getty
The COVID-19 variant that is responsible for an alarming number of infections and deaths in India has now spread to 44 countries worldwide, according to theWorld Health Organization(WHO).
The B.1.617 variant has been identified in COVID-19 cases in 44 other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, China and Singapore, according to WHO’s report.
Of those countries, Britain has the most cases of the B.1.617 variant, other than India.
India coronavirus.Prabhat Kumar Verma/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
According to WHO, India alone currently accounts for 95 percent of COVID-19 cases and 93 percent of deaths in the South-East region area, and 50 percent of global cases and 30 percent of global deaths.
On Tuesday, the country reported 348,421 new cases and a record 4,205 deaths from the virus, according toTheNew York Times' coronavirus database.
Overall, the global number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths decreased the past week, with over 5.5 million cases and over 90,000 deaths, WHO’s report stated.
In India, hospitals, graveyards and crematoriums have become overwhelmed with new cases and deaths in heavily populated areas of the country. As life-saving oxygen is in short supply, some patients have died in the streets while searching for a hospital. Meanwhile, crematoriums have had toincrease their funeral pyres. In the city of Bhopal, some have had to increase their capacity from 12 pyres to 50, according tothe Washington Post.
Experts have also said that the actual number of COVID casescould be 30 times higherthan what’s been reported.
India coronavirus.PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Gett
President Joe Bidenannounced in April that the U.S. will join several European countries in sending aid to India. The U.S. will provide financial assistance and raw materials for vaccines.
“Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,” Bidenwroteon Twitter.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes,PEOPLEis committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources fromCDC,WHO, andlocal public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources,donate to Direct Relief here.
source: people.com
