Coronavirus: WHO says India a ‘huge concern’ as deaths continue upswing

During the past week, the South Asian nation has added about 1.7 million new cases and more than 20,000 deaths

Police are patrolling the banks of the Ganges in the northern Uttar Pradesh state to stop any dumping of corpses in the river

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Relatives and family members perform the last rites of the patients who died of Covid-19 at a crematorium in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:29pm, 15 May 2021Updated: 8:54pm, 15 May 2021

India reported on Saturday its smallest daily increase in coronavirus infections in nearly three weeks, but deaths stayed near the 4,000-mark as the World Health Organization warned that the second year of the pandemic could be worse than the first.

In the past 24 hours, India had 326,098 new infections, taking its tally to 24.37 million, with 3,890 deaths, for a toll of 266,207, health ministry data showed. But the slow growth may also reflect test rates that are at their lowest since May 9.

In Geneva, the WHO’s chief said India was a huge concern, with the second year of the pandemic set to be more deadly than the first.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s remarks to an online meeting came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the alarm on Friday over the rapid spread of the disease through the vast countryside.

During the past week, the South Asian nation has added about 1.7 million new cases and more than 20,000 deaths in a second wave of infections that has overwhelmed hospitals and medical staff.

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