Second Outbreak Strikes Across India And Could Get Worse
Just a few months ago, India was averaging only around 12,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day. By contrast, in the last seven days alone, India has reported nearly 400,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day.
This surge of cases has brought the second most populated nation in the world to its knees, with heartbreaking images and statistics that continue to dominate the global news.
How bad is the crisis?
The current COVID-19 crisis in India is unprecedented. The first surge of the pandemic in India occurred in August and September of 2020, when new daily cases climbed above 75,000—but never exceeded 100,000 people per day.
By contrast, new cases of COVID-19 have exceeded 100,000 people per day for nearly the entire month of April and into the start of May. On May 1 alone, nearly 400,000 additional people were infected by COVID-19. On that same day, more than 3,000 deaths were reported. Experts say these figures fall far short of the reality and predict the death count to be much higher than recorded.
As of now, the numbers of those sickened and killed by COVID-19 in India seem likely to climb higher without drastic and immediate intervention.
What help is needed in India?
The surge of new cases in India has stretched the capacity of the healthcare system to its breaking point. Shortages of hospital beds, oxygen supplies, medicine, and personal protective equipment all contribute to the ongoing crisis.
The most critical need right now, however, remains access to oxygen. For patients sick with COVID-19, the extreme shortage of oxygen has proven devastating, and often fatal. With a limited supply of oxygen tanks, healthcare providers are often left with difficult choices of who to save and who to leave on a waitlist.
What is ADRA doing to help in India?
In 2020 alone, ADRA invested $25 million in 422 projects designed to fight the fallout of COVID-19 on a global scale. That fight continues in India. ADRA’s COVID-19 Task Force has already committed to the following:
- Support vaccine clinics in hard-hit Delhi
- Supply personal protective equipment to two Adventist hospitals in Pune and Bangalore.
- Provide a much-needed Oxygen Generation Plant to METAS Adventist Hospital, the largest Adventist hospital in India, located in the city of Surat.
What is an Oxygen Generator Plant?
An Oxygen Generator Plant is a system used by many hospitals to produce their own life-saving oxygen on location, rather than depend on a volatile supply chain. In India, some regions in the east have better access to bottled oxygen than others in the west, but the ability to share resources is hampered by a supply chain broken by the national crisis.
ADRA is supplying an Oxygen Generator Plant to the largest Adventist hospital in India, a 300-bed facility that has been converted into a COVID-19 hospital. Located in the hard-hit state of Gujarat in western India, METAS Adventist Hospital has already treated 10,000 cases of COVID-19. It expects to treat thousands more in the fight against the virus.
By providing an Oxygen Generator Plant to this critical location, ADRA is partnering with the Adventist healthcare system in India to save thousands of lives in the coming weeks and months.
How can I help?
Right now, your donations will save lives. The crisis in India is unlike anything we have seen during the entire COVID-19 pandemic. It is unlikely to improve without drastic and immediate intervention.
By joining the COVID-19 Emergency and Recovery campaign, your generosity will make the difference in a desperate situation. Right now, every $1 you give will become $3 in the ongoing fight against the pandemic. Your donation will help ADRA provide more oxygen to those who are struggling to breathe; more protective equipment to frontline responders; more hope in a time of despair.
Please donate online or call 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) to make your donation.
