Covid-19 cases surge further as calls for strict lockdown grow

Medical experts, Oppn and some SC judges suggest nationwide lockdown, as hospitals in several cities turn away patients, and as crematoriums, burial grounds struggle to handle the dead

With Covid-19 cases surging to record levels, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing growing pressure to impose a harsh nationwide lockdown amid a debate on whether curbs imposed by individual states are enough. On Friday, India registered a new record of 4,14,188 cases in a span of 24 hours and 3,915 deaths. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court made clear to the Centre that it will have to supply 700 MT of oxygen to Delhi every day till its order is modified. Modi has so far left the responsibility for fighting the deadly virus to state governments, many of whom are poorly equipped. 

Many medical experts, opposition leaders and some Supreme Court judges have suggested the lockdown seems to be the only option with the virus raging in cities and towns, where hospitals are forced to turn patients away while relatives scramble to find oxygen. Crematoriums and burial grounds are struggling to handle the dead.

A boy waits for admission outside a hospital in Kolkata on Friday

Dr Randeep Guleria, a government health expert, said a complete, aggressive lockdown is needed, especially in areas where over 10 per cent of those tested have contracted Covid.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated his demand for a total lockdown, warning “the human cost will result in many more tragic consequences for our people.” Anthony Fauci, US president’s chief medical adviser, had also suggested a complete shutdown for two to four weeks.

Medics attend to patients at a banquet hall converted into a Covid care centre in Delhi on Friday. Pic/AFP

Meanwhile, the SC on Friday made clear to the Centre that it will have to keep supplying 700 MT of oxygen to Delhi every day till it modifies the order. The AAP government on Friday told a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah that Delhi has received “86 MT today till 9 am and 16 MT is in transit”. “We want 700 MT oxygen to be supplied to Delhi daily and we mean business. We don’t want to be coercive. Please don’t force us to be firm.” It said the Centre can’t supply 700 MT one day and then put forth caveats like “containers aren’t there” and there are difficulties in transportation.

SC backs Karnataka HC order

The SC also heard the Centre’s challenge against the Karnataka High Court’s order to increase daily supply of oxygen to the state. It said the HC order of May 5, asking the Centre to beef up supply to 1,200 MT from 965 MT, is a “well calibrated, deliberated and judicious exercise of power after taking into account the number of Covid-19 positive cases. We will not interfere with it”. It refused to accept the Centre’s contention that if every HC starts passing orders for allocating oxygen, it would make the supply network of the country “unworkable”. 

Vaccination only way forward: SBI Research

As nearly half of the fresh cases are now being reported in rural areas, accelerated vaccination is the only solution to contain the raging pandemic, according to a report by SBI Research. The report noted that the share of the top 15 districts in total new cases has plunged to 26.3 per cent in May from 55 per cent in March, indicating that the spread is now dispersed across India. What is more worrying is that the share of rural districts in new cases has increased to 48.5 per cent in May from 36.8 per cent in March, Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser at SBI, said in a note on Friday. “Vaccination can be the only driver as of now to contain the spread, because recovery will actually depend on the public psyche to come out and this will not happen till the larger population is vaccinated.”

‘Covid can cause dangerous clots’

There is increasing proof to suggest that Covid-19 is not just a disease of the lungs but can also cause dangerous blood clots that need to be immediately retrieved to save limbs in some cases, say experts. Global studies have shown that the prevalence of blood clot formation in hospitalised Covid-19 patients is 14-28 per cent.

36,45,164 - No. of active Covid-19 cases in India as of Friday morning

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