India’s coronavirus caseload tops 20 million

India’s coronavirus caseload has topped 20 million. India’s plight stands in stark contrast to Europe and the US, where mass vaccinations have allowed the easing of many coronavirus restrictions.

India’s total virus caseload since the start of the pandemic surged past 20 million with more than 350,000 new cases reported on Tuesday and 3,449 more deaths, higher than anywhere else, AFP reported.

But the number of new infections was down from a peak of 402,000 last week, raising hopes that the worst of the devastating wave may have passed.

India’s healthcare infrastructure has struggled to cope. In the central city of Bhopal, rickshaw driver Mohammad Javed Khan turned his vehicle into a makeshift ambulance after he saw people carrying patients to hospitals on their backs because they were too poor to afford one.

“Even when (people) call ambulances, the ambulances are charging 5,000-10,000 rupees ($70-140),” said Khan, who sold his wife’s jewelry to equip the rickshaw with medical equipment.

Bihar, a state of around 120 million people, has now become the latest Indian region to impose a lockdown, AFP reported.

The surge in India — spurred by huge gatherings including the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela — has highlighted the continuing dangers of COVID-19, which has now claimed more than 3.2 million lives worldwide.

In the US, imminent plans to start vaccinating adolescents have sparked a debate about the ethics of immunizing a low-risk population while the pandemic rages in India and elsewhere.

President Joe Biden told reporters the US was ready to “immediately” vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds once health authorities give the green light, after trials by Pfizer-BionNTech showed their jab was safe for the age group.