Is India ready for the third way? The question can be answered using the current numbers in Maharashtra COVID 19 itself. Let us have a look at the condition of the state
On Thursday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the state is planning for a potential third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is expected to arrive in July or August. The state is also working to set up oxygen plants and arrange oxygen concentrators in light of the current oxygen crisis. “We have told all officials that potential oxygen shortages do not occur. Huge oxygen plants are being built, according to the minister.
The state health department confirmed 66,159 new coronavirus cases in India and 771 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections to 45,39,553 and the death toll to 67,985.
COVID worse in Maharashtra
In the face of the ongoing threat of COVID-19, the Maharashtra government has extended the state’s lockdown-like restrictions until May 15. The state government said the current COVID-19 restrictions would remain in effect until 7 a.m. on May 15 as part of its “Break the Chain” drive to combat the spike in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra.
The fourth phase of the vaccination campaign, which begin from May 1 as mandated by the Centre, the state health minister reiterated that those aged 18 to 44 will have to wait for vaccination due to vaccine supply shortages and delays. “Vaccination for people aged 18 to 44 years old did not begin in few state from May 1.
According to an official, Maharashtra’s daily COVID-19 vaccination rate has fallen by 1.5 lakh due to a shortage of vaccine doses. According to him, the state’s cumulative inoculation count is reportedly over 1.55 crore. According to data released on Thursday, the state inoculated 3,88,247 people on Tuesday, with a total of 2,37,700 vaccine doses available on Wednesday. The regular vaccination count has decreased by 1,50,547 due to a shortage of vaccine doses, according to the report.
Scientists want answers
As coronavirus cases rose again Friday, the army opened its hospitals in a desperate bid to manage a massive humanitarian crisis, Indian scientists appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly release virus data that would enable them to save lives.
India now has more than 18.7 million cases recorded since the pandemic started, second only to the United States. On Friday, the Health Ministry announced 3,498 deaths in the previous 24 hours, taking the number to 208,330. Both numbers are believed to be undercounted by experts, although it is uncertain by how much.
Total numbers not known
Inadequate data has hampered India’s pandemic response, and the online petition, signed by over 350 scientists on Friday afternoon, asks the government to release information on virus variant sequencing, monitoring, recovered patients, and how people responded to vaccines.
According to the appeal, non-government experts and some government experts were unable to obtain “granular” data on research. Modelling work to forecast potential spikes was being done by government-appointed experts who were working with incomplete data. Similarly, scientists had been unable to obtain information that would enable them to forecast the number of beds, oxygen, or intensive care facilities that would be required, according to the study.
The government was advised to increase the number of organisations sequencing the virus in order to research its evolution, as well as the number of samples being tested, according to the petition. It went on to say that restrictions on importing scientific raw materials were a roadblock, despite the fact that making India ‘self-reliant’ is a key goal for Modi and his government. “At this time, such limitations only serve to obstruct our ability to deal with COVID-19,” it said.
Families continued to post requests for support on social media and messaging applications, requesting oxygen, beds, medications, intensive care units, and wood for funeral pyres.
