World Sunday, April 25, 2021 05

Pakistan’s India gasps for oxygen as COVID-19 death toll COVID-19 cases explode hits new high dpa The worst outbreak of COVID-19 globally has seen India add over a million infections in the past 4 days alone Islamabad Pakistan on Saturday re- dpa with a late and callous re- ported a record number of New Delhi sponse. daily deaths amid a surge State election rallies and of new coronavirus infec- Hospitals in India are the mammoth weeks-long tions that are choking hos- sending SOS alerts over the Kumbh festival attended by pitals and putting pressure dearth of oxygen supplies for tens of millions of people, po- on oxygen supplies. their COVID-19 patients as tential superspreader events, The South Asian coun- shortages of anti-viral drugs were allowed. try recorded 157 deaths and equipment spawn a black Experts say India’s vac- within the last 24 hours, market for desperate relatives. cine rollout should have hap- the highest tally since India, staring down its pened much faster: only 135 the pandemic first hit the worst-ever health emergency, million doses have been ad- country. is struggling under an explo- ministered among its 1.3 bil- Pakistan has so far re- sion of virus cases that has led lion population since January. corded 790,016 cases and to the collapse of medical fa- India took months to approve 16,999 deaths in total, ac- cilities across major cities. foreign vaccines as it stuck to cording to the Ministry The worst outbreak of its nationalistic stance on two of Health. The number of COVID-19 globally has seen domestically-made vaccines. critical care patients stands India add more than a million “We failed in prepared- at 4,682, also all time high. infections in the past four days ness. Nobody, the medical “The actual number of alone, taking its total caseload community, scientists or the coronavirus-related deaths to over 16 million. government expected such a is bigger than what is being Patients in ambulances, massive second wave. Even reported,” Qaiser Sajjad, stretchers and private vehi- today, we don’t have much the secretary general for cles have been waiting outside data, information how muta- the Pakistan Medical Asso- hospitals filled to capacity. tions have spread, our genome ciation, told dpa. Families wait hours to per- sequencing is limited,” Indian Sajjad said that those form the last rites as reports Medical Association president who die out of hospitals say furnaces made of iron at J A Jayalal said. were not being reported crematoria are melting be- “While the worst-affected while many families con- cause of overuse. states are enforcing lock- ceal the cause of death in Oxygen supply has been downs to break the chain, order to have a normal fu- a huge problem, particularly these measures need to con- neral for their loved ones. in New Delhi, the hardest-hit tinue at least two weeks till The new surge is over- among Indian cities. hospitals and the medical whelming clinics across the Several hospitals have A coronavirus patient is lying on a stretcher in a hospital complex in New Delhi on Friday. (AFP) community can recoup to country and in the capital, warned patients admitted in tackle the crisis. where the city’s major hos- the intensive care units could the Pentamed Hospital. plying oxygen cannisters to Delhi as well as poor states There is an acute manpow- pital announced it was un- die, since they have only hours Lack of hospital beds is an- patients. like Bihar. Abhijit said his er crisis and staff are stressed able to accommodate more of oxygen stocks left. other major problem. Footage PM blamed “Oxygen supplies have inquiries revealed that a 100 out.” In an interview with a COVID-19 patients. Supplies have been reach- showed patients on stretchers Premier Narendra Modi’s been drying up since January milligram vial of Remdesi- digital news platform Mojo, Meanwhile, suppliers of ing just in the nick of time, in outside the GTB hospital be- government, in a triumphal- as cases increased. Everyday vir was being sold for 30,000 top virologist Shahid Jameel oxygen warned authorities many cases. ing administered oxygen in ist mode thinking it had I get between 250 and 300 rupees, six times the official choked back tears recounting of extreme shortages in the Among the city’s main make-shift arrangements. won over the first wave, has calls. But I can supply only to a price. the loss of a friend who was country due to the surge, hospitals, Sir Ganga Ram John Abhijeet from Del- been slammed for having limited number. I will be able Delhi police spokesman denied a hospital bed and oxy- saying production had hit Hospital, saw a controversy hi’s suburbs of Faridabad has misread the situation and to supply 50 cannisters today, Chinmoy Biswal said some ar- gen supply. its maximum capacity, Geo on Friday when some of its been in an anguished situa- 100 people are still waiting in rests had already been made There was huge under- News reported. doctors contradicted the man- tion the past week, dealing coming up with a late and the queue,” he said. and warned of strict action. counting of deaths, he said, Pakistan started its agement and blamed deaths with both challenges. callous response Shortages in supply and “We are trying to proactively with local media reporting of vaccination campaign in of 25 COVID-19 patients on After he arranged a hos- hoarding by people has led to detect the black marketing. a discrepancy between official February but only around oxygen shortages. “I have pital bed for his critically-ill and uncertain time. I’ve often the black marketing of oxygen We are conducting raids us- data and cremations taking 1.5 million people - out of both my parents admitted in mother with great difficulty, broken down in tears trying to cylinders, Majumdar said, ing police personnel as decoy place. a population of 216 mil- the intensive care unit, but he was forced to shift her to get mentally prepared to col- with “agents” selling oxygen customers.” “This data (of deaths) is lion - have been vaccinated the hospital now tells us they another hospital owing to lack lect her body and bury her,” cylinders three to four times Premier Narendra Modi’s completely skewed, manipu- so far, and restrictions are have run out of oxygen and of oxygen supplies. The pri- he said. their price at 4,000 rupees (53 government, in a triumphal- lated and false. barely followed. get your own cylinder. They vate-sector executive, his wife In the eastern metropolis dollars). ist mode thinking it had won Numbers are being fudged, On Friday, the govern- are leaving patients to die. It’s and child were found positive of Kolkata, Anjan Prasad Ma- A huge demand has also over the first wave, has been big time. There is a complete ment called in the military all up to God now,” a woman, later. jumdar, a theatre actor who led to anti-viral drugs being slammed for having misread breakdown of the system. India to enforce the rules. Garima, told reporters outside “Its been such a traumatic has turned volunteer, is sup- sold on the black market in the situation and coming up has lost the plot,” he said.

News Hopes of finding the crew alive fade in brief

Wave of killings in Kabul target police Objects from missing Indonesian submarine found officers, university lecturer dpa “The objects found near the search effort. Jakarta the last location of the subma- The German-made KRI Kabul: At least 22 people have been killed in multiple attacks rine are believed to be parts of Nanggala-402 lost contact across five Afghan provinces, officials said onS aturday. Search teams have the submarine,” he said. about 95 kilometres north In the capital Kabul, unknown gunmen assassinated four found objects from an Indone- “These objects would have of in the early hours of policemen, a university lecturer, and a government employee in sian military submarine that never got out of the submarine Wednesday during a torpedo three separate incidents, police spokesman Ferdows Faramarz went missing off Bali with 53 unless there was pressure,” he attack exercise, officials said. said. Two of the incidents happened on Saturday while the people on board, the armed added. The Navy said on Thurs- third took place on Friday evening. forces chief said on Saturday, Australian frigate HMAS day that the oxygen reserve of Targeted killings are on the rise in Kabul after a few weeks as hopes of finding the crew Ballarat and US reconnais- the submarine was expected of relative calm. Security forces, government employees, alive faded. sance aircraft P-8 Poseidon ar- to run out early on Saturday. activists and journalists are often the targets. There are rarely The discovery of the ob- rived in on Saturday It said that the submarine was claims of responsibility for the targeted attacks that have put jects means the search had to join dozens of Indonesian suspected to be 600-700 me- the Afghan capital on edge. In the country’s south-eastern entered the “subsunk phase”, vessels that have scoured the tres underwater, although it Ghazni province, at least four civilians were killed in a roadside meaning that the KRI Nang- to locate the subma- was designed to dive only to bomb blast, local officials said. (dpa) gala-402 is considered to have rine, the military said. depths of 250-500 metres. sunk, Air Marshall Hadi Tjah- Singapore’s submarine Aerial surveillance by a janto said. rescue ship MV Swift Rescue helicopter found an oil spill Israel strikes targets in Gaza in The objects include a bot- was expected to arrive later in in the location where the response to rocket attacks Family members hold photographs of a Marine Colonel Harry tle of lubricant to grease the the day, he said. submarine was last detected, Setiawan, of the Navy’s KRI Nanggala (402) submarine periscope and a device that Malaysia and India are but it was not clear if it was Tel Aviv/Gaza (dpa) - Tensions were high along the Israeli-Gaza that went missing off the coast of Bali, in Depok on Saturday. (AFP) protects a torpedo. also sending ships to support connected. border on Saturday after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Palestinian militants fired 36 rockets overnight, prompting retaliatory strikes. Israel’s Iron Dome defence system intercepted six of the rockets, the IDF reported, while other rockets were said to have fallen short of Israeli territory. ASEAN leaders urge Myanmar The IDF said it responded by hitting Hamas military sites in Gaza, including underground infrastructure and rocket launch- junta to stop violence, allow aid ers. Hamas security officials and witnesses told dpa severe damage was inflicted on the targets, which were spread out dpa It was his first known trip commitments: end the vio- across the Gaza Strip. Earlier the IDF said Israeli families had Jakarta abroad since the military seized lence, start an inclusive dialogue taken cover in bomb shelters as rockets were fired towards power and ousted the civilian among stakeholders and open southern Israel from Gaza. (dpa) Leaders of South-East Asian government led by Aung San access to humanitarian aid. nations on Saturday urged My- Suu Kyi, who has since been de- “An inclusive dialogue process anmar’s military ruler to end the tained. must be started. Political prison- Iran’s parliament stands in way of violence against protesters and “The situation in Myanmar is ers must be released immediate- possible nuclear deal compromise allow humanitarian aid as they something that is unacceptable ly,” he said, adding that a special met at an emergency summit in and should not continue,” Indo- envoy from ASEAN needed to be Tehran: Hard-liners in Iran’s parliament have indicated that Jakarta to discuss the crisis after nesian President appointed to push for such dia- they would block a possible compromise in negotiations a February 1 coup. said at a news conference after logue. Malaysian Prime Minis- aimed at getting Iran and the United States back to the More than 700 civilians have the meeting. “Violence must be ter Muhyiddin Yassin echoed his nuclear deal. been killed by soldiers in Myan- stopped and democracy, stabil- Indonesian counterpart. “The results of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna must mar during the near-daily anti- ity and peace in Myanmar must “The deplorable situation in be in accordance with [Iranian] nuclear law ... otherwise coup protests, according to hu- be restored immediately,” he Myanmar must stop immedi- they are unlawful,” parliamentarian Aliresa Salimi said on man rights groups. said. Joko said his views were ately,” he told the summit. “My Saturday. Myanmar’s junta chief Min shared by other leaders in the second point is to call for a In particular, a compromise reportedly discussed by both Aung Hlaing was present at meeting, which was closed to the meaningful, inclusive political sides that would see the US only partially lift sanctions is the meeting of the Association media because of restrictions to dialogue which can only take legally worthless unless approved by parliament, he said, of South-East Asian Nations prevent the spread of Covid-19. place with the prompt and un- according to the Tasnim news agency. (dpa) (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is Joko said the leaders demanded conditional release of political a member. Myanmar’s junta make three detainees,” he said.