Covid-19 Wrap-up: India modelling has disease wave peaking in coming days

It will be a while before it’s fully understood why our country has been so swiftly and so disastrously engulfed by Covid-19. But there is one thing for sure: India’s problem is now the world’s problem.

A mathematical model prepared by advisers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggests that the country's current Covid-19 outbreak could peak in the coming days, but the group’s projections have been changing and were wrong last month.

With a record 4.14 lakh new Covid-19 infections reported in a day, India's total case tally crossed 2.14 crore while the active cases crossed the 36-lakh mark, according to Union Health Ministry data updated this morning.

A major tragedy was averted at the K C General Hospital in Bengaluru after paramedical staff and doctors with the help of Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan arranged oxygen in the nick of time and saved the lives of 200 Covid-19 patients. Also in Karnataka, Davangere Deputy Commissioner Mahantesh Bilagi conquered the hearts of the people by taking the initiative to arrange much-needed oxygen for patients battling for life at the District General Chigateri hospital in the city and saving their lives.

As early as March 24, the Critical Care Support Unit (CCSU) had categorised Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district hospital in red saying, "O2 shortage, O2 pressure is low. Receiving 25 oxygen cylinders per day though requirement is 300 cylinders per day." Despite the CCSU red-flagging that the hospital was in dire straits with respect to oxygen 41 days before May 2, when 24 lives were snuffed out due to an alleged oxygen shortage, adequate measures weren’t taken to avert the disaster.

Amid a huge rise in oxygen demand owing to the spiralling Covid-19 cases, Haryana's Home and Health Minister Anil Vij said that control and management of all oxygen generation plants should be handed over to the military or paramilitary forces for their safety and smooth functioning.

The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the Karnataka High Court's May 5 order to the Centre to supply 1,200 MT of oxygen to the state, saying that they can't leave people in the lurch there.

The Andhra Pradesh government sent an SOS to the Centre seeking an enhanced supply of medical oxygen as the demand is expected to touch 1,000 tonnes by May 15. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an increased supply of medical oxygen for Covid-19 treatment.

Even as people familiarise themselves with new variants and symptoms during the current Covid-19 spike, hospitals in Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad are witnessing the re-emergence of a deadly fungal infection that is forcing Covid-19-recovered patients back into intensive care.

Vaccine availability is a major issue as everyone in the 18-44 age group tries to get vaccinated while many in the over-45 group continue to attempt to get their second doses. The government's Co-WIN website and the app often crash or don't display the information properly. Here are some useful websites and apps that will notify you about vaccine slot availability.

South Africa and Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Chris Morris is "relieved" to be safely back home after witnessing "chaos" unfold once Covid-19 cases in the IPL bio-bubble came to light. The International Olympic Committee said that it had struck deals with two companies for Covid-19 vaccine doses that would allow a significant proportion of athletes and officials travelling to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer the opportunity to be vaccinated before they arrive in Japan.

The US-backed effort to waive patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines, even if successful, is unlikely to narrow a yawning gap in access to life-saving shots any time soon.

There have been several questions raised over the preparedness or the lack of it, on the part of the government, both at the Centre and in the states. With the numbers and death toll on the rise, we can't help but wonder, what's next? Is there an end in sight? Our latest DH Sparks session tackles questions surrounding the second wave of Covid-19 and the lessons to learn from it.