India: Coronavirus cases skyrocket to nearly 200,000 in one day, highest number in 7 months

The India registered 194,720 new infections by coronavirus, the highest number of cases in seven and a half months, in the context of a third wave of the pandemic that has caused a tightening of the restrictions.

The nearly 200,000 cases detected in the last 24 hours, 15.8% more than yesterday, raised the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to more than 36 million, according to the latest data from the Indian Ministry of Health.

The authorities also reported an increase in the number of deaths, 442 in the last 24 hours, with which the official data of total deaths due to the coronavirus rises to 484,655.

The number of infections has increased rapidly in India, which two weeks ago registered just 10,000 daily cases, coinciding with the expansion in the Asian country of the omicron variant.

Many states have reacted to the rise in cases by imposing restrictions. In New Delhi, the authorities yesterday ordered the closure of restaurants and offices, measures that are added to the night curfew or the confinements during the weekends.

Although at the moment the authorities have reported 4,868 cases of omicron, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFCR) warned today that this highly contagious variant “threatens to collapse the health systems that still suffer from consequences of last year’s delta variant ”.

In a statement, the IFCR noted that all of South Asia is at risk.

“The omicron variant seems to have milder symptoms than the delta variant, but it is more infectious, so a high number of cases can still lead to the hospitalization of thousands of people and the death of hundreds,” said the Asia Pacific health coordinator. from the IFRC, Abhishek Rimal.

India became the global epicenter of the pandemic in May last year, during a devastating second wave that brought this nation of 1.35 billion people to a peak of more than 400,000 infections and more than 4,500 deaths per day, saturating the health infrastructure of the country and causing a shortage of oxygen and hospital beds.

India has administered 1.538 million doses against the coronavirus, and 640 million people have received the full vaccination schedule, according to the official Cowin platform.

___________________________________