Deadly fire at India hospital amid new COVID record: Live updates
India is reporting record number of coronavirus cases – and deaths – amid an alarming shortage of medical oxygen and beds in its hospitals as a brutal second wave of the virus overwhelms its under-funded, fragile healthcare system.
On Friday, the world’s second-most populous nation reported a single-day high of nearly 332,730 new cases and record 2,263 deaths.
Hospitals across northern and western India, including capital New Delhi, say they are fully occupied and running out of oxygen supplies.
Here are the latest updates:
French president’s ‘solidarity’ message to Indians
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his solidarity with India as the South Asian nation struggles to contain a second wave of the coronavirus.
“I want to send a message of solidarity to the Indian people, facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. France is with you in this struggle, which spares no one. We stand ready to provide our support,” Macron said.
J&J COVID vaccine expected in India by July: Report
Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be imported to India for “fill and finish” by June or July, India’s financial daily Mint reported.
Fill and finish is the final step in the manufacturing process of putting the vaccine into vials or syringes, sealing them and packaging them up for shipping.
India has said it would fast-track emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for possible imports of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna shots.
This will exempt companies from carrying out local safety trials for their vaccines.
Patients die as hospitals run out of oxygen: Reports
Indian media reports said at least 25 patients have died in the last 24 hours at a hospital in capital New Delhi after they ran out of oxygen supplies.
Max Healthcare, which runs a network of hospitals in northern and western India, posted an appeal on Twitter for emergency supplies of oxygen at its facility in capital New Delhi.
“SOS – Less than an hour’s Oxygen supplies at Max Smart Hospital & Max Hospital Saket. Awaiting promised fresh supplies from INOX since 1 am,” the company said.
Similar desperate calls from hospitals and ordinary people have been posted on social media for days this week across the country.
World record daily COVID cases for second straight day
India has recorded the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus cases for a second day in a row, while daily deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by a record.
With 332,730 new cases, India’s total caseload has now passed 16 million. Deaths rose by 2,263 to reach a total of 186,920, according to the health ministry data.
India recorded 314,835 new infections on Thursday, surpassing a record held by the United States in January when it hit 297,430 new cases. The US tally has since fallen.
Fire kills 13 COVID-19 patients in Indian hospital
A fire broke out in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in western India’s Maharashtra state has killed 13 COVID-19 patients, an official said.
The fire on the second floor of the hospital has been extinguished and some patients requiring oxygen have been moved to nearby hospitals, said Dilip Shah, CEO of Vijay Vallabh hospital in the Virar area, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Mumbai.
Shah said there are 90 patients in the hospital and the cause of the fire is being investigated.
On Wednesday, 24 COVID-19 patients on ventilators died in a hospital in Nashik, another city in Maharashtra state, when their oxygen supply was interrupted by a leak in a supply line.
Canada bans flights from India, Pakistan
Flights from the two South Asia nations suspended after COVID-19 cases detected in travellers arriving from the region.
Canada has banned all passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days due to the growing wave of COVID-19 cases in that region, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said.
“Given the higher number of cases of COVID-19 detected in air passengers arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan … I am suspending all commercial and private passenger flights arriving in Canada from Indian and Pakistan for 30 days,” Alghabra told a news conference on Thursday.
The measure went go into effect at 11:30pm Eastern Time on Thursday (03:30 GMT on Friday).
It will not apply to cargo flights, Alghabra said, particularly to ensure the continued shipment of vaccines, personal protective equipment and other essential goods.
More than a million people living in Canada are of Indian descent while there are 100,000 Canadians who have Pakistani ancestry.
India, which is undergoing an alarming surge being blamed on a “double mutant” variant and super-spreader events, recorded the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus cases for a second day in a row on Friday, while daily deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by a record.
With 332,730 new cases, India’s total caseload has now passed 16 million. Deaths rose by 2,263 to reach a total of 186,920, according to health ministry data.
Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that overall only 1.8 percent of travellers to Canada have tested positive for coronavirus.
While India accounts for 20 percent of recent air travel to Canada, more than half of all positive tests at the border were from flights arriving from the country, she said, adding that “a similarly high level of cases … have also been linked to Pakistan”.
Canada in December briefly suspended flights from Britain over concerns about outbreaks of a COVID-19 variant.
Earlier on Thursday Parliament voted unanimously to urge the government to ban non-essential flights from COVID-19 hotspots where variants have surged, including India and Brazil.
Alghabra said there are currently no scheduled flights between Canada and Brazil, but added that “we will not hesitate to ban travel to other countries if the science bears that out”.