India Covid victims dying in streets as families hunt for black market oxygen

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Ireland is to donate 700 oxygen concentrators to India as part of efforts to assist with the devastating COVID19 outbreak in the country India

People infected with coronavirus are dying in the streets, bodies are piling up at crematoriums and hospitals are running out of oxygen and beds as India's crisis spirals out of control.

India has reported almost three million active cases. However, the true figures are thought to be much higher, with modelling suggesting that as many as 15,000 people are dying every day. Patients die as oxygen runs out In the north-western city of Hisar, protesters gathered outside a hospital after five coronavirus patients died on Monday morning.It was the third incident in just 24 hours in the state of Haryana, where 10,000 new cases were reported in a day, NDTV reported.

Demand for oxygen has risen more than 20 per cent nationally, with many turning to a thriving black market, where they are being charged exorbitant prices, to keep loved ones alive. Siddiqui Ahmad took his 32-year-old son to an official oxygen supplier to beg for air. His mother sobbed as she spoke to Sky News: "He's been turned away from everywhere. No one would help."

The badly-hit Bengaluru, in the southern Karnataka state, has the most active cases in the country, with 162,171, after reporting 17,342 in the latest 24-hour period.New Delhi has 93,080 active cases and Mumbai has 78,775. Dr A Fathahudeen, a member of Kerala state's Covid taskforce, told the BBC there were warning signs in February but "we did not get our act together".

He warned that the country is facing a "storm" of infections as the country turned to the rest of the world for help.In New Delhi, the regional government announced it would give free vaccines to everyone above 18 in a bid to slow the surge in infections.Several states, including Maharashtra, the richest, halted vaccinations in some places on Sunday, saying supplies had run out.

"I am pleased that Ireland is in a position to make this emergency donation of 700 oxygen concentrators to India. It is taken from stocks originally purchased by the HSE for use in a field hospital setting, as part of pandemic preparations.

 

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