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‘Beg, borrow, steal:’ A fight for oxygen as COVID surges in India

Desperate people in India are taking to social media to beg for beds
Desperate people in India are taking to social media to beg for beds

On Thursday, India reported a record 315,835 daily new COVID-19 cases, while deaths rose by 2,104. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, India has now recorded 15,930,774 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 184,657 deaths.

Business Insider is reporting that not only has India’s healthcare system been brought to its knees by the surge of COVID-19 cases, but the demand for medical oxygen has soared. The country has recorded more than 200,000 new cases every day for more than a week, Insider’s Sinéad Baker reported.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been criticized for failing to plan for the upsurge in cases, Reuters reports.

On April 13, when Delhi recorded 13,000 new cases, Kejriwal told a news channel there was “no shortage of oxygen”. Five days later, he tweeted, “OXYGEN HAS BECOME AN EMERGENCY”.

“It is poor forecasting. Maybe they are not able to understand the gravity of the situation,” said Anant Bhan, an independent researcher of global health and bioethics. “This is a reminder again – we should have extra reserves of oxygen. It shows poor planning.”


The courts intervene in the oxygen crisis
In India’s capital, Dehli, where some hospitals have run out of oxygen entirely, the fight for oxygen has reached the High Court, where judges convened late on Wednesday night to hear a plea from Max hospitals.

After listening to lawyers and hospital administrators for several hours describe the extent of the oxygen shortages, as well as supply and transportation problems getting the needed oxygen, the Delhi justices called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to “beg, borrow, steal or import” to meet the city’s needs. Officials said they were arranging supplies, but the judges weren’t convinced.

The state “cannot say ‘we can provide only this much and no more’, so if people die, let them die; that cannot be an answer by a responsible sovereign state,” said Justice Vipin Sanghi.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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