India Covid pandemic: Delhi calls for army help amid crisis

The authorities in the Indian capital Delhi have called for help from the army as the city grapples with a brutal second wave of Covid-19 cases.

Hospitals in the city are in crisis, with intensive care beds full and an acute shortage of medical oxygen.

Delhi's government wants the army to run Covid care facilities and intensive care units.

Across India, case numbers since the start of the outbreak are closing in on 20 million.

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The country has seen more than 300,000 new cases a day for nearly two weeks straight while deaths stand at 220,000.

Experts say total Covid cases and deaths in India are likely to be much higher, citing lack of testing and patients dying at home without being seen by doctors.

Hospitals 'overwhelmed'
Delhi, which this weekend reported record daily deaths at more than 400, wants the army to run medical care with oxygen facilities for around 10,000 patients, and a further 1,000 intensive care units.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that with healthcare "overwhelmed... it will be a timely help to the people of Delhi if the Ministry of Defence, with the considerable resources at its command, is tasked with the responsibility to provide and man the additional Covid health facilities".

He also asked for "urgent" help transporting much-needed oxygen.

India has already ordered its army to send its oxygen from army reserves to hospital while retired military medical personnel have been called up to help.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has repeatedly said that the city is not getting enough oxygen from the federal government, which allocates oxygen quotas to states.

But federal officials deny there are shortages, saying the challenge has come from transportation.

India produces thousands of tonnes of oxygen a day, but some experts say the supply crunch comes from a lack of investment in distribution networks.

Delhi hospitals have resorted to sending SOS messages on social media to secure supplies. For residents, hours spent in queues to top up portable canisters have become part of daily life.

Hospitals plead for oxygen as more patients die
"It's a battle we are fighting every day," said Dr Gautam Singh, who runs the Shri Ram Singh hospital.

"Half of my hospital staff are on the road with cylinders to get them filled every day, going from one place to another."

There are severe strains outside of the capital too. In the southern state of Karnataka, 24 people died in one hospital, but the government there has denied reports that all of them died due to a shortage of oxygen.

Vaccine drive stalls
India's Covid crisis has been compounded by a sluggish vaccination campaign.

Despite being the world's biggest producer of vaccines, there is a shortage of supplies. Since January, just over 10% of India's 1.4 billion people have had one dose and only about 2% two doses.The chief executive of India's Serum Institute, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, has warned shortages will last for months.

Adar Poonawalla told the Financial Times the institute had been unfairly maligned over the lack of supplies.

He had not boosted capacity earlier, he said, because "there were no orders, we did not think we needed to make more than 1bn doses a year".

Read More : Oscars 2021: Best Actress nominees, from Frances McDormand to Viola Davis

As we take a look at the strong female leads this year, we cant help but take a look at the actresses who have been overlooked in the past. As Melissa Leo breathed fire as a ferocious Mother Superior, it seemed that the two-time

Oscars 2021: Best Actress nominees
Oscar nominee was snubbed in her under the radar movie directed by first-timer Margaret Bett. All while Battle of the Sexes, a riveting performance by Emma Stone and Steve Carell, challenged gender issues that are dominating the headlines today but was still unfairly ignored by the Academy. And finally, one of the best performances by a young actress as 22-year-old Florence Pugh captivated audiences in her performance in Lady Macbeth and to no avail, but lets take a look at this years nominees and get a feel for who we think will be the winner...

Viola Davis | Ma Raineys Black Bottom
How to Get Away with Murder, Fences and now Ma Raineys Black Bottom - what cant this woman do? Having won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards, she is the first African-American to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". Four years ago, Davis won an Oscar for her role in "Fences", where she played another August Wilson heroine, but this victory was met with a lot of controversy as many (myself included) believed she deserved the victory for Best Actress rather than Supporting Actress. As the blues singer Ma Rainey, in George C. Wolfes film, Davis stands in nobodys shadow. Lets see what this years Oscars will bring.

Andra Day | The United States vs. Billie Holiday
The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a 2021 American biographical film about singer Billie Holiday, based on the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. Directed by Lee Daniels, the film stars Andra Day in the titular role, along with Trevante Rhodes, Natasha Lyonne and Garrett Hedlund. Andra Day, is no newbie when it comes to the world of music as she won a Golden Globe for her performance in Lee Daniels biopic, but that paired with actress creates a dynamic twofold thats hard to compete with.

Could a portrait of an iconic singer as a tragic, strung-out mess win a Best Actress Oscar? Lets ask last years winner, Reneé Zellweger.

Vanessa Kirby | Pieces of a Woman
Vanesa Kirby has become known through her role as the fragile young Princess Margaret in The Crown but her new role in Pieces of a Woman might leave you surprised. Kirby plays Martha, a Boston woman whose home birth results in unspeakable loss, from which Martha spends the rest of the film excavating herself. In her grief-stricken role, Kirby hits a nerve for many viewers who are either parents or have gone through a similar loss. While she is an underdog in the array of nominated talented actresses this year, but we still believe the moving performance could lead to a victory this year.

Frances McDormand | Nomadland
One of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation, she is known for her portrayals of quirky, headstrong female characters. Even though McDormand is known for her roles in small-budget independent films he has still managed to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting" as she has won the Best Actress award twice for Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. McDormand steps into the shoes of Fern, in Nomadland, a woman that embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything and through her role manages to make a film cast of non-actors look like they have been acting their whole lives. Will McDormand take home another Oscar this year?

Carey Mulligan | Promising Young Woman
The British actress has received numerous awards and nominations, including one British Academy Film Award, a Critics Choice Award and nominations for two Academy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and one Tony Award but this one was an unexpected one. In her role as Cassie, Mulligan embraces her characters trauma and tendency to put herself in danger as she embarks on a journey or revenge against men. Cassie is wickedly smart and cunning, but she is living a secret life. The film introduces Cassie a seemingly drunk in a nightclub, in serious need of rescuing from drunk ill-intended men but all of a sudden the realisation of what is about to happen to her sobers us up and she begins her master plan.
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