MUMBAI (UCAN): The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India urged people across the country to strictly follow Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) restrictions in an April 22 letter. Conference president Oswald Cardinal Gracias of Mumbai, also wrote that May 7 would be designated a day of prayer and fasting to seek divine intervention to save the country from the spreading pandemic.
“We are recording around 300,000 new cases of coronavirus every single day. The second wave has hit us like a tsunami and we are yet to reach the peak,” the April 22 letter said.
“Added to this is the apparent lack of planning, resulting in a shortage of hospital beds, antiviral drugs, oxygen and vaccines. It could get worse before it gets better,” the letter continued.
Cardinal Gracias urged people to follow protocols such as wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing and sanitising hands, as well as adhering to restrictions and curfews imposed to break the chain of infection.
The cardinal also encouraged everyone to get vaccinated.
India’s Supreme Court described the second wave of the pandemic as “a national emergency-like situation” and issued a suo moto (of its own accord) notice asking the federal government to explain its preparedness to deal with the crisis.
Observers and media reports say the actual number of infected people could be much higher as many with symptoms are not taking a test or going to hospitals because health facilities are overwhelmed.
The top court’s initiative came on April 22 as the nation recorded 332,348 Covid-19 cases and 2,264 deaths. The cases came from 1.6 million tests conducted across the country.
Observers and media reports say the actual number of infected people could be much higher as many with symptoms are not taking a test or going to hospitals because health facilities are overwhelmed.
Hospitals are reporting a lack of beds and facilities as administrations in several places have issued guidelines for people to treat themselves at home.
At least 20 Covid-19 patients died on the night of April 23 in a Delhi hospital due to a shortage of medical oxygen, an official told media.
That followed the deaths of at least 35 Covid-19 patients on April 21 due to an oxygen leak and fire at two government hospitals in Maharashtra state, one of the worst-hit states in India.
Media reports also suggest that local administrations have been grossly under-reporting deaths. For instance, in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, five Covid-19 deaths were on April 22, but on that same day, 117 bodies were cremated under Covid-19 protocols, according to Navduniya, a local Hindi-language daily newspaper.
Under-reporting has also occurred in other states such as Gujarat where long queues of ambulances carrying dead bodies were found in front of crematoriums.
“We are passing through a very critical situation in our country with so many people dying of infections daily,” Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu, chairperson of the Indian bishops’ healthcare commission, said on April 23.
“It is true our medical facilities are crippled and now people will have to take care of themselves following Covid-19 protocols,” the archbishop said.
Critics have accused the federal government of mismanaging the pandemic.
“It is a time we need to untidily fight against our enemy rather than blame anyone at this juncture,” Archbishop Mallavarapu said.
“Now our people are dying. We all need to join hands to extend all cooperation to the government and other agencies to fight the pandemic,” he said.
