Corona crisis; India crossed the 20 million cases.

India became the second country in the world after the United States on Tuesday, with more than 20 million people suffering from coronavirus. The official death toll in the country has exceeded 220,000.

India crossed 20 million reported cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday.

There were 357,229 new cases reported over a span of 24 hours, bringing the total to 20.28 million, according to health ministry data.

India’s first cases were detected in late January last year and the country’s total did not cross 10 million infections until December, according to Johns Hopkins University data. But the next 10 million cases were reported in the span of just under five months, mostly in April.

So far, at least 222,408 people have died from the disease, but that number is likely lower than the actual death toll. Media reports suggest crematoriums and burial grounds are overwhelmed with bodies of those who died from Covid-19.

“The pandemic has now entered the small towns and the villages, and we are now quite worried about how much of a devastation it will cause in those areas where the health systems are not well developed enough to provide support when even some of the big metros are struggling with the caseload on hospitals,” K. Srinath Reddy, president at the Public Health Foundation of India told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Monday.

During the first wave last year, India imposed a strict national lockdown between late March and May, which derailed the country’s growth trajectory and left millions without a source of income.

While the central government appears reluctant to impose a second nationwide lockdown, several states have stepped up restrictions in recent weeks, including local lockdowns and curfews. That includes Maharashtra, which is India’s worst-hit state, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and others.

Some health experts have suggested that India needs a national stay-at-home order and a medical emergency declaration to address current healthcare needs.

Short Link

Copied