Indian states impose stricter lockdowns as COVID deaths hit record high

[May 08, 2021]  By Sudarshan Varadhan and Tanvi Mehta

CHENNAI (Reuters) -India on Saturday reported its highest ever single-day COVID-19 death toll, as cases continued to rise and states imposed stricter lockdowns.

India's health ministry reported 4,187 fatalities over the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to just under 240,000. Cases rose by 401,078, increasing the total since the start of the pandemic to 21.9 million.

Medical experts say the real numbers of COVID-19 cases and fatalities are likely to be far higher than official tallies.

Tamil Nadu, known for its automobile manufacturing including BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Ford, Nissan and Renault, said it would move from a partial to a full lockdown on Monday, stopping public transport and shutting state-run alcohol retailers.

Neighbouring Karnataka state extended a total shutdown late on Friday. The state capital Bengaluru is a major tech hub, home to major offices of companies including Google, Amazon and Cisco.

India is yet to impose a national lockdown as it did during its first wave last year, but around half of all its states have imposed a total shutdown. The rest are under a partial shutdown.

Though it is the world's biggest vaccine maker, India is struggling to produce and distribute enough doses to stem the wave of COVID-19.

Although the country has administered over 167 million vaccine doses, its rate of inoculation has fallen sharply in recent days and only around 2% of its 1.4 billion people have received the two doses needed to be fully immunised.

Policemen stand in front of Jama Masjid or Grand Mosque on Jumat-ul-Vida or the last Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, during a lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 7, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A CRISIS IN THE SOUTH

While cases in the country's northern and western areas have borne the brunt of the pandemic, southern states including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have seen infections surge.

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India has brought the healthcare system to the brink of collapse, with patients dying due to lack of oxygen or access to hospital beds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for his handling of the oxygen shortage, though the government says it is doing all it can.

Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin said in a letter to Modi late on Friday Tamil Nadu's medical oxygen demand could double in the next two weeks.

"The availability of oxygen in Tamil Nadu is very very critical," Stalin said, adding that 13 patients died in a hospital on the outskirts of Chennai due to the lack of oxygen.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Chennai and Tanvi Mehta in New Delhi; editing by Alasdair Pal and Jane Wardell)

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