India is suddenly suffering
the world's worst
coronavirus crisis that has crushed
the country's healthcare system.
But unfortunately,
instead of being a little more
cautious about political
campaigning, that's currently
taking place in the country.
The ruling party right now,
Modi's party has decided to go full
steam ahead.
So that is part of
the reason why likely we're
seeing such a giant increase in
Coronavirus cases in India.
India crossed a grim milestone of
200,000 people lost to
the Coronavirus in a devastating
surge of new infections.
In a new global record Indian
authorities logged 360,960
infections in a 24 hour period,
and bringing the total number of
cases to more than 17.9 million.
India also reported
3293 deaths even as experts warned
that many virus fatalities were
going uncounted.
By the way, you know,
as I mentioned,
the high number of cases is likely
fueled by the fact that there's all
sorts of political activity and
campaigning taking place right now.
And what's also happening
because of the high numbers of new
Coronavirus cases is the same
shortages really that we
faced here in the United States.
Unfortunately, the situation in
India is even more dire though.
So India's hospitals have faced
severe oxygen supply shortages
as the devastating wave of cases
overwhelms the country's health
care infrastructure.
Many Indians have taken to social
media to crowdsource oxygen
cylinders, and life saving drugs or
even plead for
information on open hospital beds.
And that's the thing they don't
have enough hospital beds.
We certainly experienced how
horrible that was here in
the United States.
I do want to go to the CNN report
that really helps to illustrate
how dire the situation is in India.
Take a look.
>> I'm standing outside of COVID
emergency ward at a top hospital
in New Delhi.
It is here that a lot of
people have been coming and
almost begging for beds and
oxygen for their loved ones.
If you look at all these calls
starting from here,
almost a dozen of them parked
right outside this emergency ward.
They're asking just for beds and
oxygen which they have been denied
as of now, because there are no
beds available.
According to officials inside this
hospital.
The old people here, all women,
all men, they even younger people
who are gasping for
breath in this cars.
They're just waiting for
that one lucky moment where they
get a bed inside this facility.
>> I brought my father here,
there are no beds,
there aren't people, those are in
the corridors lying on the floor.
And the very first question says
that show your RT-PCR test.
What is the infection rate?
Am I getting oxygen cylinder?
Which I wasn't aware of.
I thought this is what the hospital
would provide.
>> Relatives of patients who
suffering from COVID-19 have been
waiting for
ambulances also to take them home.
But these ambulances have been so
busy getting patients here or
to crematoriums that has been
extremely difficult for
them to get the sick ones home
after being denied a bed.
>> One of the images that's hard to
forget, and honestly reminds me of
what we experienced in New York
with dead bodies being piled on top
of each other in the back of trucks
is you know how they're backed up
in in cremations for Corona virus
patients who didn't make it.
So I do want to warn you the next
video is difficult to watch but it
does again, provide a devastating
illustration of how bad
the situation has gotten in India.
>> These raging fires will continue
all day and through the evening
the surge in case has been so much
that there's waiting really for
these bodies to be put
on the pyre by family members.
There's a queue outside,
just waiting for the final rights
to end for a family member who
has died of COVID-19.
One of the most heartbreaking
scenes I witnessed, Was when a 27
year old was picking up the ashes
of his 49 year old mother.
His brother is still in hospital
recovering from
COVID-19 while his father has just
got home after recovering from
infection >> Much like other right
wing leaders in places like Brazil,
in the United States under
Donald Trump, you just have these
politicians who are far more
concerned about their political
aspirations and their political
careers than doing the right thing.
Thing to keep as many people alive
as possible.
And that's certainly the case with
Narendra Modi, who is the leader of
India and his BJP party.
I had mentioned the elections
taking place and I do want to give
you some more details about it.
Because again, that activity that's
taking place is creating
super spreader events and
that's why you're starting to see
this explosion of new Coronavirus
cases in India.
Well, India has become the COVID
capital of the World,the country is
at the same time busy in
the assembly elections in four of
its states and one union territory.
Most of these, continue to be
enacted in the politically crucial
state West Bengal,
which India's ruling party BJP
desperately wants to win.
So again, we're talking about
a Modi led party that will stop at
nothing to ensure that they win.
And if that means that they're
going to hold more of these
political events and cause more of
these super spider events than so
be it, in fact, Modi has gone
to extreme lengths to silence, or
censor.
Anyone, who's critical of his
policies related to coronavirus,
and this is what you get when you
deal with self-interested.
Right wing Narcissus,
who again are far more interested
in doing what they want to do to
maintain power, as opposed to doing
the right thing as leaders.
And as far as the United States,
there is some talk about providing
raw materials to India so they can,
you know, develop not develop but
produce their own vaccine.
That's some good news.
There's a little bit of concern
though, because the United States
still refuses to waive the patents
for the Coronavirus vaccines.
And as a result, there are many
poor countries around the world who
want to be able to produce their
own vaccine, who want to at least
be able to produce a generic
version of the vaccine and
they're unable to do so.
The fact that the United States and
the World Trade Organization still
refuses to waive the patent tells
you everything you need to know
about how dealing with a global
pandemic will be a failure, if you
think about profit motive above,
preventing deaths.
And that's what's
happening right now.
I get it.
I get that pharmaceutical companies
want to increase their profits,
they want to protect their profits.
In many cases they claim all we're
not going to innovate.
We I mean, it's just so expensive
to develop all of these drugs
even though the government pays for
our research and development.
But we're talking about
a global pandemic.
You are not able to combat a global
pandemic in a global economy.
Unless you work together and
put profits aside for a minute,
just for a minute.
Waive the patent.once you do that,
then I'll actually believe that
the United States and
the World Trade Organization is
serious about effectively combating
this pandemic.
Otherwise, it's all talk,
raw materials that's nice, but
get rid of that patent.
It doesn't make any sense.