Mastercard Unveils AI-Powered Card Fraud Prevention Service in EEMEA Region, Starting from Egypt    Egypt, Russia's Rosatom review grid readiness for El-Dabaa nuclear plant    In call with Zelenskyy, Sisi reiterates diplomatic end to Russia-Ukraine War, Mideast De-escalation    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Egyptian pound climbs against dollar at Wednesday's close    New accords on trade, security strengthen Egypt-Oman Relations    Egypt launches public-private partnership to curb c-sections, improve maternal, child health    Gaza under Israeli siege as death toll mounts, famine looms    EMRA, Elsewedy sign partnership to explore, develop phosphate reserves in Sebaiya    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt Post discusses enhanced cooperation with Ivorian counterpart    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for stronger action on desertification, climate resilience in Africa    Egypt in diplomatic push for Gaza truce, Iran-Israel de-escalation    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt, Tunisia discuss boosting healthcare cooperation        Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Egypt discovers three New Kingdom tombs in Luxor's Dra' Abu El-Naga    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Over 1 million: India joins US, Brazil in grim coronavirus club
Published in Ahram Online on 17 - 07 - 2020

India on Friday became the third country in the world to record more than one million cases of the new coronavirus, behind only the United States and Brazil, as infections spread further into the countryside and smaller towns.
Given India's population of around 1.3 billion, experts say, one million is relatively low - but the number will rise significantly in the coming months as testing increases, further straining a healthcare system already pushed to the brink.
The pandemic has surged in the country in recent weeks as it spread beyond the biggest cities, pushing India past Russia as the third-most-infected country last week.
Authorities imposed fresh lockdowns and designated new containment zones in several states this week, including the largely rural Bihar state in the east and the southern tech hub Bengaluru, where cases have spiked.
But officials have the struggled to enforce the lockdowns and keep people indoors.
India recorded 34,956 new infections on Friday, taking the total to 1,003,832, with 25,602 deaths from COVID-19, federal health ministry data showed. That compares to 3.6 million cases in the United States and 2 million in Brazil - countries with less than a third of India's population.
Epidemiologists say India is still likely months from hitting its peak.
"In the coming months, we are bound to see more and more cases, and that is the natural progression of any pandemic," said Giridhar Babu, epidemiologist at the nonprofit Public Health Foundation of India.
"As we move forward, the goal has to be lower mortality," he said. "A critical challenge states will face is how to rationally allocate hospital beds."
The last four months of the pandemic sweeping India have exposed severe gaps in the country's healthcare system, which is one of the most poorly funded and has for years lacked enough doctors or hospital beds.
The Indian government has defended a strict lockdown it imposed in March to contain the virus spread, saying it helped keep death rates low and allowed time to beef up the healthcare infrastructure. But public health experts say shortages remain and could hit hard in the coming months.
"As a public health measure, I don't think the lockdown had much impact. It just delayed the virus spread," said Dr. Kapil Yadav, assistant professor of community medicine at New Delhi's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The million cases so far recorded likely left out many asymptomatic ones, he said. "It's a gross underestimate."
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take concrete steps to contain the pandemic, tweeting that the number of infections will double to two million by August 10 at this pace.
Millions of migrant workers, left stranded in the cities by the lockdown in March, took long journeys home on foot, some dying on the way while others left without work or wages.
Several states including Bihar, to which many of the migrants returned, have witnessed a surge in cases in recent weeks as the lockdown has been eased to salvage a sagging economy.
Babu predicts India will not see a sharp peak and decline.
"The surges are shifting from one place to another, so we cannot say there will be one peak for the whole country. In India, it's going to be a sustained plateau for some time and then it will go down."


Clic here to read the story from its source.