A health worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carries a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outside the casualty ward at Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, in New Delhi, India, April 24, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
India has reported a record number of coronavirus cases for the fifth day in a row, with a second wave pushing its health care system to the brink.
There were some 352,991 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the last 24 hours, seeing India’s total number of infections top 17 million, with 5 million cases counted in April alone. At least 2,182 people have died from the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the South Asian nation’s death toll to over 195,000, though media reports indicate the official figure is being understated.
Before the second wave, India was reporting an average of around 10,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Its government has been criticized for allowing religious festivals and election rallies to go ahead this year.
India’s hospitals have run out of beds and are suffering an extreme shortage of oxygen to treat patients.
A patient sits inside an ambulance waiting to enter a Covid-19 hospital for treatment
A patient with breathing problem is seen inside an ambulance waiting to enter a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 20, 2021.
Amit Dave | Reuters
A man runs past the burning funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease
A man runs past the burning funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during a mass cremation, at a crematorium in New Delhi, India April 26, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
A man prepares a funeral pyre to cremate a body
A man prepares a funeral pyre to cremate the body of a person, who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a crematorium ground in New Delhi, India, April 22, 2021.
Danish Siddiqui | Reuters
Medical staff attends to a person in the temporary Covid-19 care centre
Medical staff in PPE attending to a person in the temporary Covid-19 care centre attached to LNJP Hospital, at Shehnai Banquet Hall, on April 23, 2021 in New Delhi, India.
Raj K Raj | Hindustan Times | Getty Images
A man wearing an outfit resembling the Covid virus moves around a marketplace urging people to follow the safety protocols
A man from a Non-governmental organization (NGO) wearing an outfit resembling the Covid-19 coronavirus moves around a marketplace urging people to follow the safety protocols during an awareness drive held in Siliguri on April 25, 2021.
Diptendu Dutta | AFP | Getty Images
A worker disinfects nozzles of oxygen cylinders as they are refilled in a factory
A worker disinfects nozzles of oxygen cylinders as they are refilled in a factory, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 25, 2021.
Amit Dave | Reuters
Umar Farooq mourns over the body of his mother, who died of Covid, before her burial at a graveyard in Srinagar
Umar Farooq mourns over to the body of his mother, who died of Covid-19 coronavirus, before her burial at a graveyard in Srinagar on April 26, 2021.
Tauseef Mustafa | AFP | Getty Images
People wait to cremate those who died due to the coronavirus at a crematorium ground in New Delhi
People wait to cremate victims who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a crematorium ground in New Delhi, India, April 23, 2021.
Danish Siddiqui | Reuters
A doctor tends to a patient’s breathing problem inside an ambulance as she waits to enter a Covid-19 hospital
A doctor tends to a patient with a breathing problem inside an ambulance waiting to enter a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 25, 2021.
Amit Dave | Reuters
People wearing protective face masks wait to receive a Covid vaccine at a vaccination center in Mumbai
People wearing protective face masks wait to receive a vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre in Mumbai, India, April 26, 2021.
Niharika Kulkarni | Reuters
People cremate the bodies of coronavirus victims at a crematorium ground in New Delhi
People cremate the bodies of victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a crematorium ground in New Delhi, India, April 24, 2021.
Danish Siddiqui | Reuters
Rickshaw drivers hold oxygen cylinders outside a private refilling station
Rickshaw drivers hold oxygen cylinders outside a private refilling station, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in New Delhi, India, April 19, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
A patient breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, inside an auto rickshaw
A patient breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, inside an auto rickshaw parked under a tent along the roadside amid Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in Ghaziabad on April 26, 2021.
Sajjad Hussain | AFP | Getty Images
A woman is consoled after her husband died due to the coronavirus disease
A woman is consoled after her husband died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outside a mortuary of a COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, India, April 20, 2021.
Amit Dave | Reuters
A man carrying wood walks past the funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease
A man carrying wood walks past the funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during a mass cremation, at a crematorium in New Delhi, India April 26, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
A man wearing personal protective equipment stands next to funeral pyres
A man wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) stands next to funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during a mass cremation, at a crematorium in New Delhi, India April 26, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
A view of multiple funeral pyres at Nigambodh Ghat crematorium in New Delhi
A view of multiple funeral pyres of Covid-19 victims, at Nigambodh Ghat crematorium, on April 23, 2021 in New Delhi, India.
Sanjeev Verma | Hindustan Times | Getty Images
Health workers carry bodies of people who were suffering from the coronavirus disease
Health workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) carry bodies of people who were suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside the Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, in New Delhi, India, April 24, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
Relatives carry the body of a man, who died from the coronavirus, during his funeral at a graveyard in New Delhi
Relatives carry the body of a man who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during his funeral at a graveyard in New Delhi, India, April 23, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
Family members sit next to the burning funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease in New Delhi
Family members sit next to the burning funeral pyres of those who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during a mass cremation, at a crematorium in New Delhi, India April 26, 2021.
Adnan Abidi | Reuters
