Delhi Diary: India's Covid-19 Second Wave Leaves Deep Scars

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- India's lack of preparedness to face the COVID-19 second wave earlier this year has been talked about a lot. A number of factors such high population density, circulation of deadlier virus mutants, complacency, and scarcity of resources can be blamed for the carnage it caused. April and May were the worst months, when patients searched in vain to find hospital beds. Many were forced to receive treatment at home with whatever medical assistance they could manage. The scramble for medical oxygen supplies and vital medicines was epic, involving not just individuals but also institutions. The COVID-19 situation these days may look more manageable in India, but the second wave's scars have made people jittery about the possibility of a new surge. Doctors continue to urge caution by telling people to wear face masks and avoid large gatherings as some of the hardest-hit places during the second wave, including Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, have lifted stringent restrictions on public activities. The healthcare system was suffering from exhaustion in tackling the pandemic, Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, president of the Progressive Medicos and Scientists' Forum, told Bernama. "People should avoid public activity and go out only if necessary. There is pressure on livelihoods (because of lockdown measures), but we may have a third wave if people become careless," he said. He described the COVID-19 second wave as the worst tragedy he had ever seen. On some days, new infections crossed 400,000. About 800 doctors died during the second wave, according to the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The association has harshly rebuked exponents of indigenous medicines for promoting pseudo-remedies for COVID-19. The second wave's devastation was felt not only in large population centres and but also in small cities and villages. Many countries helped India by sending large quantities of liquid medical oxygen (LMO), oxygen concentrators and drugs. Social media became a helpline as people begged for hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and medicines. Volunteers and activists came forward to help those unable to access an underfunded and overwhelmed healthcare system. "I was in agony to see corpses lining up at crematoriums and burial grounds. I had never seen such a catastrophe and being a medical professional I wanted to do something," social activist Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani said. Usmani and his friends got together and set up a makeshift COVID-19 treatment centre in his hometown in Darbhanga in the sate of Bihar. "Ours is a backward area without enough medical facilities. We initially thought of setting up a 30-bed facility but we could arrange funds only for 15 beds. We were able to help many patients by giving them free treatment," Usmani said. The Indian media has been criticised for contributing to the complacency by not highlighting the inadequacies in handling the pandemic and ignoring warnings of the second wave. India has officially reported more than 424,000 deaths, the world's third highest after the United States and Brazil, and more than 31.6 million total cases since the pandemic began. However, a recent study by the Washington-based Centre for Global Development estimated the country's pandemic death toll could be in millions. -- BERNAMA