Mumbai:
India's new coronavirus cases stayed above 300,000 for a sixth consecutive day on Tuesday, while its armed forces pledged urgent medical aid to help battle the staggering spike in infections.
Over the past 24 hours, India recorded 323,144 new cases, below Monday's worldwide peak of 352,991, with overrun hospitals continuing to turn away patients due to a shortage of beds and oxygen supplies. It reported 2,771 new deaths, but health experts believe the tally runs significantly higher.
"Please note that a huge fall in daily cases … is largely due to a heavy fall in testing. This should not be taken as an indication of falling cases, rather a matter of missing out on too many positive cases!" Rijo M John, a professor and health economist at the Indian Institute of Management in the southern state of Kerala, said in a post on Twitter.
India, home to around 1.3 billion people, has so far reported 17.64 million COVID-19 infections and 197,894 deaths, but experts believe the tally runs significantly higher.
Several countries, including Thailand, Singapore, Bangladesh and Britain, have taken steps to curb travel from India to prevent more virulent virus variants from entering their borders. Australia is set to consider a proposal to suspend flights from India later in the day.
The situation in the world's second-most populous country is "beyond heartbreaking", World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. India has called on its armed forces to help tackle the devastating crisis. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said late on Monday that oxygen would be released from armed forces reserves and retired medical personnel would join health facilities that are struggling under the strain of cases.
Nations including Britain, Germany, and the United States have pledged urgent medical aid, while Indian Americans in U.S. Congress and the technology sector have also joined forces to boost aid. The United States has said it will share 60 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine with other countries.
"Major lobbying is on at this point of time to secure as much as possible for India," a senior Indian official part of ongoing negotiations told Reuters, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been assured that India would be given priority.
"At this juncture even harshest critics of India are pushing the U.S. regime" to aid India, the official added.
In some of India's worst-hit cities, bodies were being cremated in makeshift facilities in parks and parking lots. Critically ill patients lay on beds outside overwhelmed hospitals waiting for admission.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned the Indian economy, the world's sixth-largest could falter as a result of the spike in cases, creating drag for the global economy.
"We expect that this could get worse before it gets better," Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the Chamber, the biggest U.S. business lobby, told Reuters. Australia paused direct passenger flights from India until May 15, the latest on a growing list of countries to curb travel from India to prevent more virulent virus variants from entering their borders.
Three Australian cricketers cut short their Indian Premier League season to head home amid the uncertainty.
The country is negotiating with the United States, which has said it will share 60 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine with other countries. "Major lobbying is on at this point of time to secure as much as possible for India," a senior Indian official part of ongoing negotiations told Reuters, adding that Modi had been assured that India would be given priority.