Impact of virus on India cause for alarm

India’s condition owing to the virus is cause for concern – and alarm. Two southern states in India became the latest to declare lockdowns, as coronavirus cases surge at breakneck speed across the country and pressure mounts on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to implement a nationwide shutdown.

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.

India now accounts for nearly half of the world’s new known cases according to an AFP database.

While many Western countries have started easing restrictions thanks to rapid vaccinations, the head of the World Health Organisation warned that more countries could suffer the kind of deadly outbreaks currently raging in India, Brazil and Nepal.

At over 300,000, Karnataka’s capital of Bengaluru has the highest active caseload of any Indian city.

But experts warn the worst is still ahead as India’s third largest city buckles under oxygen shortages, overrun hospitals and crowded crematoriums. In Tamil Nadu state, the lockdown announcement followed a daily record of more than 26,000 cases on Friday.

Infections have swelled in India since February in a disastrous turn blamed on more contagious variants and government decisions to allow massive crowds to gather for religious festivals and political rallies.

On Saturday, India reported 401,078 confirmed cases, including a record high of 4,187 deaths. Overall, India has more than 21.8 million confirmed infections and nearly 240,000 deaths.

One doctor in Bengaluru said he’s had to reject patients “left, right and centre” as his hospital struggled to find more oxygen.

India’s airlines are also suffering under the weight of the virus impact. They are under renewed pressure to raise cash or face the risk of having to downsize, consolidate or have their planes repossessed by lessors as a surge of COVID-19 infections roils travel.

Passenger traffic fell by nearly 30% in April from a month before and has halved again so far in May, forcing even the country’s biggest and most cashed-up carrier, IndiGo, to prepare for action.

IndiGo’s parent, Interglobe Aviation, will meet on Friday to consider an equity raising, just months after it abandoned plans to raise up to 40 billion rupees ($543 million) in January in response to a speedy recovery in travel.

While IndiGo is seen as a survivor, the situation is worse for smaller carriers, particularly those without large backers, some of which were struggling before the novel coronavirus hit, analysts say.

The cash call comes as Indian carriers are expected to report total losses of $4-$4.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended on March 31 and will lose a similar amount this year, aviation consultancy CAPA India said in a note this week.

To make matters worse, several countries, including Britain and the United States, with which India has had bilateral arrangements to operate charter flights have restricted arrivals because of high infection rates.

Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday thanked Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern oil producers for supplying liquid medical oxygen (LMO) to help the country in its battle with the COVID-19 crisis.

In a series of tweets, Pradhan also welcomed offers by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar to supply containers for the next six months and for an assurance of a steady commercial supply of LMO to India.

India has prioritised imports of oxygen, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday, adding that 40 countries had pledged their support. “We are talking about close to 550 oxygen generating plants that are going to come in from different sources from all over the world,” Shringla told a news conference.