A record single-day rise of 234,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India’s COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday.
“The situation is very critical, worrying. Oxygen is in short supply,” said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, adding that almost one in four tests for the virus were giving a positive result.
“Beds equipped with oxygen supplies, and for critical care, are filling fast,” he added.
New Delhi, which has imposed a weekend curfew, is among the worst hit cities in India, where a second major wave of coronavirus infections is straining health infrastructure.
In recent weeks, criticism has mounted over how the federal government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has handled the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue despite reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and vaccination doses.
After imposing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns for nearly three months last year, India’s government relaxed almost all curbs by the beginning of 2021, although many regions like New Delhi and state of Maharashtra have introduced localised restrictions.
“This is Narendra Modi’s biggest crisis yet. It is bigger than any security threat, external or internal, or even the economic attrition of 2020,” political commentator Shekhar Gupta wrote in a column on Saturday.
