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150 rotting bodies of Covid patients' wash up on the banks of the Ganges amid fears relatives could not bury or cremate them in latest shocking scene laying India's crisis bare
The health ministry recorded another 366,161 infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday - although both figures are almost certainly undercounts as the country looks set to reach the grim milestone of 250,000 official fatalities tomorrow.
The decomposed bodies were discovered on the banks of the Ganges in the northern state of Bihar today, with residents telling local officials they had seen dozens floating downstream.
There were more than 150 bodies spotted in the river on Bihar's border with Uttar Pradesh, according to the Times of India. However, local officials denied the number, putting the figure at between 40 and 45.
One local official told NDTV: 'They are bloated and have been in the water for at least five to seven days. We are disposing of the bodies. We need to investigate where they are from, which town in UP (Uttar Pradesh) - Bahraich or Varanasi or Allahabad.
'The bodies are not from here as we don't have a tradition of disposing of bodies in the river.'
The local administration believes that the deceased were Covid patients and local villagers have been left terrified the disease could spread further after dogs were seen wading near the bodies.
The harrowing scene has led to a blame game between politicians in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where wood shortages have driven up the price for funerals at the busy crematoria.
It comes amid mounting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a nationwide lockdown to combat a rapidly-spreading new variant, including from White House adviser Anthony Fauci who warned, 'You've got to shutdown.'
Harrowing footage showed dozens of bodies washed up at the sides of the River Ganges in northeastern Bihar state. The local administration believes that the deceased were Covid patients and local villagers have been left terrified the disease could spread further after dogs were seen wading near the bodies. The grim pile up has led to a blame game between politicians in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where wood shortages have driven up the price for funerals at the busy crematoria.
Footage showed bodies washed up on the banks of the River Ganges in Bihar state today. The local authorities believe they are Covid patients amid soaring costs for having relatives cremated
Disturbing images showed bloated and rotting corpses floating through the Ganges. The local population is worried that the virus could now spread into nearby villages
The health ministry recorded another 366,161 infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday - both figures are almost certainly undercounts as the country looks set to reach the grim milestone of 250,000 fatalities
Speaking to ABC yesterday, Fauci said: 'I believe several of the Indian states have already done that, but you need to break the chain of transmission. And one of the ways to do that is to shut down.'
The northeastern state of Assam is feared to be the new infection powder keg, with cases spreading faster than anywhere else in the country.
A massive stadium and a university have been converted into hospitals just days after political rallies were held which have been blamed for helping to spread the disease.
Meanwhile in Delhi, the health minister has revealed they are running out of vaccines, with only three or four days worth of AstraZeneca doses remaining, while oxygen tanks in the city remain scarce.
Cases in Assam started ticking upwards a month ago and the official seven-day weekly average in the state on May 9 stood at more than 4,700 cases.
But a model run by the University of Michigan - which predicts the current spread of cases before they are actually detected - says infections in Assam are likely to be occurring as fast as any other place in the country.
Add to that recent elections in the state - and the huge political rallies that accompanied them - and experts fear an uncontrolled surge is on the horizon.
Worryingly, along with cities in India's north-eastern frontier - which is closer to Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan than it is to New Delhi - cases have also started to spike in some remote Himalayan villages in the region.
Nationwide, India's Health Ministry reported 360,000 new cases in the past 24 hours on Monday, with more than 3,700 deaths.
Since the pandemic began, India has seen more than 22.6 million infections and over 246,000 deaths - both, experts say, almost certainly undercounts.
Officials in Assam were racing to prepare for a virus surge because similar onslaughts in infections have overwhelmed hospitals in much richer Indian states.
'We are adding 1,000 beds a week to prepare ourselves in the event of cases spiralling,' said Dr Lakshmanan S, the director of the National Health Mission in Assam.
The state's largest government-run hospital, the Guwahati Medical College Hospital, has more than doubled its number of intensive care beds to 220 and health officials are building another 200 in the hospital's car park.
A football and cricket stadium is being converted into a hospital for Covid-19 patients with 430 beds.
The private Royal Global University in the state capital Gauhati has been converted into a hospital with 1,000 beds.
The state is sending doctors, paramedics and medicine to these facilities and the university said it would provide books and newspapers for patients to read.
'This is the least we thought we could do in this time of huge crisis for our country,' said Dr AK Pansari, the university chairman.
There are 2,100 beds reserved in government centres for Covid-19 patients in Gauhati, with hundreds more planned.
That is in addition to the existing 750 beds for patients at private hospitals in the state.
Even as infections have increased, the rates of vaccination have fallen in Assam and the other states in the region since India expanded its coverage to include all adults on May 1.
Adding to concerns is confirmation the virus has started spreading into more remote Himalayan villages with poor health infrastructure.
These areas are home to indigenous tribes, who already face some of the lowest access to healthcare in the nation.
The region had largely been untouched by the virus earlier and many people behaved like Covid-19 did not exist.
But it now appears the virus was spreading in even remote villages without people knowing until it was too late.
The lack of awareness about the virus, lack of resources and the remoteness is complicating contact tracing in such areas, said Dr Mite Linggi, the medical superintendent at the district hospital at Roing in Arunachal Pradesh state.
Relatives of coronavirus (Covid-19) victims perform the last rites, during a cremation, at a crematorium in Delhi on Monday
Funeral prayer for those who died of the coronavirus during a cremation, at a crematorium in Delhi on Monday
Relatives of coronavirus (Covid-19) victims perform the last rites, during a cremation, at a crematorium in Delhi on Monday
Family members of a person who died of Covid-19 perform the last rites at a crematorium in Delhi
Horrifying moment Indian coronavirus sufferer is transported to hospital on the back of a motorbike wedged between two men wearing full PPE
Horrifying footage has emerged showing a coronavirus sufferer being transported to hospital on the back of a motorbike, wedged between two men wearing full PPE in India.
The man was staying at a care centre for Covid patients in the village of Punnapra in the southern state of Kerala, set up for those with mild symptoms unable to self-isolate properly in their own homes.
But his condition rapidly deteriorated and it was decided that he needed to be rushed to hospital.
The video shows him lolling weakly in between the two other riders who are supporting him from behind and in front as they rushed him to the hospital in the city of Alappuzha on April 7.
One horrified witness, Vishnu P, told local media: 'He started to experience breathlessness around 9am
'As there was no ambulance or other facilities, volunteers took him to the Punnapra Cooperative Hospital on the motorbike of another Covid-19 patient.'
Following the incident, the District Collector directed the District Medical Officer (DMO) to conduct an investigation and submit a report.
- The health ministry recorded another 366,161 infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday - both figures are almost certainly undercounts as the country looks set to reach the grim milestone of 250,000 fatalities
- Bloated and decomposed corpses were discovered on the banks of the Ganges in the northern state of Bihar today, with residents telling local officials they had seen dozens floating downstream
- There were more than 150 bodies in the river on Bihar's border with Uttar Pradesh, local media reported. However, officials denied the number, claiming that there were between 40 and 45 bodies
- It comes amid mounting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a nationwide lockdown to combat a rapidly-spreading new variant, including from senior White House adviser Anthony Fauci
- WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES:
The health ministry recorded another 366,161 infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday - although both figures are almost certainly undercounts as the country looks set to reach the grim milestone of 250,000 official fatalities tomorrow.
The decomposed bodies were discovered on the banks of the Ganges in the northern state of Bihar today, with residents telling local officials they had seen dozens floating downstream.
There were more than 150 bodies spotted in the river on Bihar's border with Uttar Pradesh, according to the Times of India. However, local officials denied the number, putting the figure at between 40 and 45.
One local official told NDTV: 'They are bloated and have been in the water for at least five to seven days. We are disposing of the bodies. We need to investigate where they are from, which town in UP (Uttar Pradesh) - Bahraich or Varanasi or Allahabad.
'The bodies are not from here as we don't have a tradition of disposing of bodies in the river.'
The local administration believes that the deceased were Covid patients and local villagers have been left terrified the disease could spread further after dogs were seen wading near the bodies.
The harrowing scene has led to a blame game between politicians in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where wood shortages have driven up the price for funerals at the busy crematoria.
It comes amid mounting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a nationwide lockdown to combat a rapidly-spreading new variant, including from White House adviser Anthony Fauci who warned, 'You've got to shutdown.'
Harrowing footage showed dozens of bodies washed up at the sides of the River Ganges in northeastern Bihar state. The local administration believes that the deceased were Covid patients and local villagers have been left terrified the disease could spread further after dogs were seen wading near the bodies. The grim pile up has led to a blame game between politicians in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where wood shortages have driven up the price for funerals at the busy crematoria.
Footage showed bodies washed up on the banks of the River Ganges in Bihar state today. The local authorities believe they are Covid patients amid soaring costs for having relatives cremated
Disturbing images showed bloated and rotting corpses floating through the Ganges. The local population is worried that the virus could now spread into nearby villages
The health ministry recorded another 366,161 infections and 3,754 deaths on Monday - both figures are almost certainly undercounts as the country looks set to reach the grim milestone of 250,000 fatalities
Speaking to ABC yesterday, Fauci said: 'I believe several of the Indian states have already done that, but you need to break the chain of transmission. And one of the ways to do that is to shut down.'
The northeastern state of Assam is feared to be the new infection powder keg, with cases spreading faster than anywhere else in the country.
A massive stadium and a university have been converted into hospitals just days after political rallies were held which have been blamed for helping to spread the disease.
Meanwhile in Delhi, the health minister has revealed they are running out of vaccines, with only three or four days worth of AstraZeneca doses remaining, while oxygen tanks in the city remain scarce.
Cases in Assam started ticking upwards a month ago and the official seven-day weekly average in the state on May 9 stood at more than 4,700 cases.
But a model run by the University of Michigan - which predicts the current spread of cases before they are actually detected - says infections in Assam are likely to be occurring as fast as any other place in the country.
Add to that recent elections in the state - and the huge political rallies that accompanied them - and experts fear an uncontrolled surge is on the horizon.
Worryingly, along with cities in India's north-eastern frontier - which is closer to Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan than it is to New Delhi - cases have also started to spike in some remote Himalayan villages in the region.
Nationwide, India's Health Ministry reported 360,000 new cases in the past 24 hours on Monday, with more than 3,700 deaths.
Since the pandemic began, India has seen more than 22.6 million infections and over 246,000 deaths - both, experts say, almost certainly undercounts.
Officials in Assam were racing to prepare for a virus surge because similar onslaughts in infections have overwhelmed hospitals in much richer Indian states.
'We are adding 1,000 beds a week to prepare ourselves in the event of cases spiralling,' said Dr Lakshmanan S, the director of the National Health Mission in Assam.
The state's largest government-run hospital, the Guwahati Medical College Hospital, has more than doubled its number of intensive care beds to 220 and health officials are building another 200 in the hospital's car park.
A football and cricket stadium is being converted into a hospital for Covid-19 patients with 430 beds.
The private Royal Global University in the state capital Gauhati has been converted into a hospital with 1,000 beds.
The state is sending doctors, paramedics and medicine to these facilities and the university said it would provide books and newspapers for patients to read.
'This is the least we thought we could do in this time of huge crisis for our country,' said Dr AK Pansari, the university chairman.
There are 2,100 beds reserved in government centres for Covid-19 patients in Gauhati, with hundreds more planned.
That is in addition to the existing 750 beds for patients at private hospitals in the state.
Even as infections have increased, the rates of vaccination have fallen in Assam and the other states in the region since India expanded its coverage to include all adults on May 1.
Adding to concerns is confirmation the virus has started spreading into more remote Himalayan villages with poor health infrastructure.
These areas are home to indigenous tribes, who already face some of the lowest access to healthcare in the nation.
The region had largely been untouched by the virus earlier and many people behaved like Covid-19 did not exist.
But it now appears the virus was spreading in even remote villages without people knowing until it was too late.
The lack of awareness about the virus, lack of resources and the remoteness is complicating contact tracing in such areas, said Dr Mite Linggi, the medical superintendent at the district hospital at Roing in Arunachal Pradesh state.
Relatives of coronavirus (Covid-19) victims perform the last rites, during a cremation, at a crematorium in Delhi on Monday
Funeral prayer for those who died of the coronavirus during a cremation, at a crematorium in Delhi on Monday
Relatives of coronavirus (Covid-19) victims perform the last rites, during a cremation, at a crematorium in Delhi on Monday
Family members of a person who died of Covid-19 perform the last rites at a crematorium in Delhi
Horrifying moment Indian coronavirus sufferer is transported to hospital on the back of a motorbike wedged between two men wearing full PPE
Horrifying footage has emerged showing a coronavirus sufferer being transported to hospital on the back of a motorbike, wedged between two men wearing full PPE in India.
The man was staying at a care centre for Covid patients in the village of Punnapra in the southern state of Kerala, set up for those with mild symptoms unable to self-isolate properly in their own homes.
But his condition rapidly deteriorated and it was decided that he needed to be rushed to hospital.
The video shows him lolling weakly in between the two other riders who are supporting him from behind and in front as they rushed him to the hospital in the city of Alappuzha on April 7.
One horrified witness, Vishnu P, told local media: 'He started to experience breathlessness around 9am
'As there was no ambulance or other facilities, volunteers took him to the Punnapra Cooperative Hospital on the motorbike of another Covid-19 patient.'
Following the incident, the District Collector directed the District Medical Officer (DMO) to conduct an investigation and submit a report.
