Fisherman Le Thanh Danh (51 years old, Yen Hai village) is excited: Starting at 3 am, we sailed to the sea to drop nets. Recently, I caught about 20 kg of crabs of all kinds. With the selling price of 50 – 70 thousand VND / kg of 3-eyed crabs, 180 – 220 thousand VND / kg of green crabs, I earned nearly 2 million VND. In production conditions that are somewhat difficult due to the epidemic, Trinh Van Chuong’s family (Yen Lieu village) still has money to go to the fields thanks to the trips to sea. “These days, Xuan Yen fishermen mainly go to the sea to exploit crabs. Like this trip, I also earned 1.5 million dong after only 4 hours of fishing, “- Mr. Chuong shared. After the boat reaches the shore, family members will work together to remove the crabs from the net. This work requires meticulous, careful because if the crab is broken, it will be depreciated. At this time, crabs are sold at quite high prices, from 70 to 220 thousand VND/kg depending on the type, so people are very excited. In addition to crabs, fishermen also catch a lot of cuttlefish, with an average weight of 2-4 kg/head. With prices ranging from 200 to 220 thousand VND/kg, only cuttlefish have an income of 2 million VND after each trip. These trips also brought back a lot of mantis shrimp for fishermen in Xuan Yen commune. This type of seafood is sold for 100,000 VND/kg, which also contributes to increasing income for people. After removing the net, classifying, seafood will be purchased by small traders on the spot.

Remove the pit fish from the net. On summer days, the sky is calm and the sea is calm. Although the journeys of the fishermen in my hometown are difficult, when they return to the shore, they are always full of laughter. On the ships docked, there are not only dried squid – an expensive export seafood – but also dried sea bass – a fragrant, delicious fish that is now very popular. Throughout the fishing ports and beaches in the communes of Binh Son district (Quang Ngai), hundreds of fishermen are very excited about the beginning of the fish season, while the price of this commodity is increasing. The people of the sea are happy because of the fish season. When the boat came ashore, far away from the motorbikes buying fish, carrying fish was busy. These days, coastal fishermen begin to exploit pit fish. This is a high-value seafood species that is exported to many countries. Starts sporadically after Tet, but from March to May is the time when the fish starts to be in season and is the most fat, fat and fragrant. According to the coastal seniors in Binh Chau commune, the fishing season is mainly from January to April of the lunar calendar because at this time the fish come back a lot. After the voyages to sea, the majority of the marine catch are usually pit fish with bright silver chalk, which is pleasing to the eye at first glance. Ho fish is very popular in foreign markets, so when it is exploited, traders also follow fishermen to go far to sea to buy and preserve on the spot. Hogfish is a special type of fish known as the sea fish with a dragon body because of its silvery sparkling appearance and fins running down its spine. Just like the fish in the sea, the fish in the open sea, the body is long and the body is flat, but black, the skin is covered by a thick, hard bone that runs from the head to the tail, looks very solid, the meat is lean, with little fat. than. The big one is about 1m long, the small one is about 50cm. They have a long body (average 60–90 cm), flattened on one side, with pointed teeth. Although it is a fierce fish, difficult to catch, but with high nutritional value, cobia is classified as a nutritious food for many people. The fish is very delicious when it is fresh and only those who directly practice at sea can enjoy it. Because before returning to the mainland, fish must be dried to ensure quality and keep for a long time. This year, the weather at the beginning of the year is favorable, the sea is calm, so the boats and boats are all hit by fish. Mr. Thanh, a fisherman in Binh Chau shared: “The fishermen usually go out to sea to catch fish from 3-4 am every day, then return to shore, every trip back to the sea is full of fish, so everyone is excited. “. At 4 a.m. every day, Binh Chau fishermen reach out to catch fish. They use a net 7 m wide, more than 300 m long, and drop it about 5 to 10 km from the coast. At 11 a.m., they reached the shore with a thick net and began to unload the fish. But seafaring is also very industrial, because only seasoned fishermen can see the flow of fish in action, in addition to the help of the locator and locator. According to local people, Ho fish often go in groups in the sea, at the beginning of the lunar year, they come to the shore. “This year, the weather is favorable at the beginning of the year, the sea is calm, so the boats and boats all hit fish holes, some people gain a few tens of kilograms, some people have a few hundred kilograms each trip,” said fisherman Nguyen Van Thinh. The fish meat is very delicious and is loved by many people. After collecting the net, the fish will be carefully removed, avoiding scratches, stored in a foam box with enough ice to ensure quality or temporarily dried on the boat. After that, the fish is transported from the sea to the mainland, a part is brought to the market to sell fresh, and part of the fish is salted for 2 days. Then let it dry in the sun to dry naturally. In the early morning, people have bought fresh pit fish from fishermen who went fishing in the sea. Ho fish is very popular in foreign markets, so when it is exploited, traders also follow fishermen to go far to sea to buy and preserve on the spot. Ho fish meat is very delicious, popular with many people, white hole fish for export currently has a high price of 70,000-75,000 VND/kg. Compared to previous years, the price of fish this year has increased. Sometimes through the large amount of catch, fresh fish cannot be consumed, the rest is transferred to dry by fishermen. Before being dried, the fish is washed in fresh water. After catching the fish, people will cut open the belly of the fish, clean it and strung it on bamboo strips about 5m long and then dry it. This stage is clean, the fish will be delicious to eat later and preserved for a long time. Dry fish pit. The fish head is the thickest place, so it will be spread out to let the sun shine in, helping to dry quickly. People in the coastal village often dry the fish by crossing a rope or pole to dry. After half a day of drying fish, people take the fish’s tail together to hang the fish head down, helping the fish to dry quickly and straight, convenient for packaging later. Although fresh fish brought back to dry, although it is laborious, it is very expensive to sell and gives a higher price than selling fresh fish. On average, 2kg of fresh halibut after drying in the sun, about 1kg of dried fish is obtained and sold for more than 120,000 VND. Under the sun over 37 degrees, the fish is dried for 8 consecutive days. The houses in these coastal villages all dry fish in season, from the front porch, on the pole to the fence, the long striped fish is brought out to dry.

To date, India has recorded more than 25 million cases and 275,000 deaths from Covid-19. However, many experts say the real number could be many times higher. On the riverbanks, many cremation pylons burned around the clock, many cremation sites had no space left. This phenomenon partly reflects the unprecedented number of deaths and has not been updated in official data. According to the BBC , behind the bodies floating in the river is a story of customs, poverty and a deadly pandemic. Many cremation pylons burn around the clock in India. Photo: Getty. Frighten The horrifying story in the state of Uttar Pradesh first came to light on May 10. The opening was the event of 71 bodies washed up on the riverbank in the village of Chausa in Bihar. Officials said some of the remains may have been leftover body parts that fell into the Ganges after cremations, but they suspect the bodies were dumped in the river. The police put a net across the water to prevent the same thing from happening. A day later, about 10 kilometers from Chausa, dogs and crows were seen swarming with dozens of decomposing bodies on the banks of a river in the village of Gahmar, in the Pradesh Ghazipur region of Uttar state. Locals said the body had been washed up on the embankment for several days. However, the authorities ignored their complaints about the stench until news of the corpses found downstream of Bihar made the news. Dozens of bodies swell and decompose, floating in the river. They were discovered by people when they went for a morning dip in India’s holiest river. Sheet Hindustan Police reported that 62 bodies had been recovered. Meanwhile, in Kannauj, Kanpur, Unnao and Prayagraj, the riverbanks are dotted with shallow graves. Shallow graves by the Ganges River. Photo: Getty. Videos sent to BBC from the banks of the Mehndi ghat in Kannauj shows a series of mounds in the shape of human corpses. Each of these mounds contained a body. At the nearby Mahadevi ghat, at least 50 bodies were found. Crematorium is overloaded Traditionally, Hindus will cremate the dead. However, many communities have a practice known as “Jal Pravah” – the practice of floating the bodies of children, unmarried women, or those who have died of an infectious disease or been bitten by a snake. Many poor people do not have money to cremate their loved ones, so they also wrap their bodies in white cotton cloth and drop them into the water. Sometimes bodies are tied to rocks to ensure they will sink to the bottom of the river, but many bodies are floated without the stones tied. In the time before the pandemic, corpses floating in the Ganges were not an uncommon sight. However, the number of bodies in the river is too much in recent times, still surprising many people. A journalist in Kanpur said the number of bodies in the river was proof of the “big disparity between the official death toll and the actual death toll related to Covid-19” in India. He said that from April 16 to May 5, the official reported number was 196 deaths in Kanpur, but data from seven crematoriums showed there were nearly 8,000 cremations. “All electric crematoriums are open 24/7 in April. Even so, there are still not enough furnaces to cremate bodies, so the government has allowed the use of wood on the outside grounds for cremation,” he said. to speak. “However, crematoriums only accept confirmed Covid-19 bodies from the hospital, while a very large number of people who died at home have not been tested. Families of the dead bring the bodies of their loved ones out. on the outskirts of the city or to neighboring districts like Unnao. When they can’t find wood or a place to cremate, they drop the bodies on the riverbed.” Cremation platforms along the riverside. Photo: Getty. Another journalist in Prayagraj also believes that many of the bodies in the river are those of Covid-19 patients who died at home without being tested, or poor people who can’t afford cremation. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “These people are someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father or mother. They deserve to be respected when they die. But their deaths are not even recorded – no one knows they died or is known. How to be buried? Burial from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m The discovery of graves and decomposing bodies, along with fears that the bodies could have contracted Covid-19 have sparked panic in villages along the river. Originating in the Himalayas, the Ganges is one of the largest rivers in the world. Hindus consider this river a sacred river, they believe that bathing in the Ganges will wash away sins and use this river water for religious ceremonies. In Kannauj, Jagmohan Tiwari, a 63-year-old resident, reported seeing “150-200 shallow graves” by the river. “The burial took place from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” he said. The discovery of the graves caused panic in the area. People worry that bodies buried on the ground will start to float in the river when it rains and the water level rises. On May 12, the state government banned the practice of “Jal Pravah” and provided support for poor families who could not afford cremation. Relatives of a victim stand near the riverbank while the body is cremated. Photo: Getty. In many places, the police used sticks to retrieve the body from the river and called on the boatman to bring the body to the shore. After being retrieved, the decomposed bodies are buried in pits or burned on a cremation pyre. Ghazipur district judge Mangala Prasad Singh said teams had been set up, patrolling the riverbanks and cremation grounds to prevent people from dumping bodies in rivers or burying them on the banks. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

Even more sad is that those endless tragedies still have no end. These stories will appear more and more, as the Covid-19 pandemic begins to spread from big cities to rural India, where the health system is much worse than the urban areas. The picture is full of contrasts The Indian capital New Delhi recorded nearly 12,500 new Covid-19 cases on May 12 – just half of the number recorded here on April 30. Another somewhat positive sign is that the positive rate of tests has dropped to 19%, from a peak of 36% a few weeks earlier. A farmers market in Mumbai on May 11. Photo: Reuters. A similar positive situation is recorded in Mumbai – India’s most populous city. The positive rate of the test here dropped to 7%, below the 10% recommended by WHO. That partly shows that the two largest cities of India are gradually controlling the epidemic. However, if looking at the whole picture, the picture of the Covid-19 pandemic does not seem to have too many bright spots. Dark spots are appearing more and more, especially in rural India. This leads to a conundrum: If New Delhi, which has good health infrastructure and many good hospitals, struggles to contain the pandemic, how can rural areas where the system much weaker health care – can withstand the wave of epidemics. And the answer came pretty quickly. When the source of oxygen is exhausted On May 11, Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Hospital in Andhra Pradesh state ran out of oxygen supply, while more than 60 patients were in critical condition. 11 patients later died. In anger, relatives of these people stormed into the intensive care unit, knocking over tables and chairs and smashing equipment. Television images showed several people clutching their heads in grief, while doctors and nurses fled for fear of assault. A Covid-19 patient is being cared for at a public hospital in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Photo: Reuters. Andhra Pradesh, like many other southern states, is facing severe oxygen shortages. Statistics of an Indian newspaper show that oxygen depletion has taken place in 20 hospitals, leading to the deaths of more than 200 patients. In the past, the southern states of India have agreed to share oxygen with each other. Now, some states want to end the cooperation. The southern state of Tamil Nadu refused to share oxygen with the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, where the tragedy took place that left 11 people dead. The state of Kerala also refused to share oxygen because of the state’s high demand for oxygen, as the test positive rate in the state increased to 27% from 8% in early April. “Many people have died without treatment,” commented Rijo M. John, a health economist in Kerala. Behind the bodies in the river People in Bihar, a northern Indian state, could not help but be shocked when they discovered dozens of bodies, suspected of being Covid-19 victims, washed up on the banks of the Ganges River on May 10. “I have never seen so many corpses,” said Arun Kumar Srivastava, a local doctor. He also said that “there will certainly be more deaths”, as many people carry bodies on their shoulders. A family member of a Covid-19 patient is grieving after hearing the news of a loved one’s death. Photo: Reuters. Officials said the bodies were dropped by ambulance drivers from a bridge, and denied that the bodies were floated by relatives due to lack of burial conditions. Krishna Dutt Mishra, an ambulance driver in Bihar, said that many people had to drop the bodies of loved ones in the river because the cremation price was too high. According to him, during the second Covid-19 wave, the price of cremation has increased from 2,000 rupees (about 27 USD) to 15,000 rupees (200 USD). This is a huge sum of money for many Indian families, and as a result, cremating a loved one becomes an impossibility for them. “I drove all the way from Buxar to Chausa. I’ve never seen dead bodies in the river, let alone seen dozens, or hundreds of bodies,” Mr. Mishra said. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

The banks of the Ganges River in the city of Garhmukteshwar, Uttar Pradesh state (India’s most populous state) became a place to cremate the bodies of people who died of COVID-19. Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES The epidemic is spreading rapidly to the countryside After four consecutive days of recording the number of infections above 400,000 / day, the last two days the number of daily infections in India has fallen below this level. Many government health officials and experts predict this second wave of epidemics in India will peak around the end of this week. However, it seems that the epidemic crisis in India is moving to a more dangerous new phase. The danger is that the virus is now spreading rapidly to rural areas, according to the CIDRAP Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. In the article in the newspaper New York Times Journalist Jeffrey Gettleman, head of this newspaper’s office in the capital New Delhi, also said that the infection and death from COVID-19 that broke out in big cities a few weeks ago is now spreading very quickly to rural areas. village. New Delhi recorded nearly 12,500 infections on May 11, less than half of the number recorded on April 30. Hospitals in New Delhi are now accepting patients again, after having to stop accepting them because of overcrowding last month, leaving infected people to die on the streets. Mumbai also recorded the same. The danger is that the number of infections in New Delhi and Mumbai will probably stop increasing and decrease gradually, but in many other places will increase. In other words, the situation of New Delhi a few weeks ago now extends to almost the entire country. Some of the worst-affected states are in the south, especially Karnataka. I cannot imagine what would happen in rural India. Expert RIJO M. JOHN worried about the prospect of the COVID-19 epidemic overflowing into the countryside How will it be? This fact raises a terrifying question: If New Delhi, a rich metropolis with dozens of hospitals, is unable to handle the current wave of high cases, what will happen once this wave spreads to the country? poor rural areas? The answer seems to be gradually becoming clear. On the evening of May 10, a leading hospital in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh ran out of medical oxygen. More than 60 critically ill patients wear breathing tubes but no oxygen. The doctors worked frantically, but 11 patients did not survive that night. In a distraught over the loss of a loved one, family members stormed into the hospital and smashed it. Doctors and nurses had to flee until the police arrived. It can be clearly seen that the hospital overload, lack of oxygen, medicine … very serious even in large urban areas will be more alarming in rural states, according to the radio. CNN . Chogath farming village in the western state of Gujarat has a population of 7,400, but there are 500-600 infections, the number of people who have not survived is very high because the whole village does not have a doctor. Nearby towns have several medical centers, but these small facilities have run out of beds and medical facilities. Dinesh Makwana drove his father, who was severely infected with COVID-19, through four medical centers in neighboring towns, but had to return home, because these centers had run out of beds. Usually about 30 people die in this village every year, but in the past month alone, villagers have had to cremate 90 bodies, according to Mr. Girjashankar. Many families have lost a lot of loved ones to COVID-19. Girjashankar, 70, still volunteered to go up the hill to cut firewood to help cremate the dead. Many southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have made it clear that they will not share the medical oxygen they have with each other, having to keep it to serve hospitals that are overloaded because the number of patients is growing too fast in their states. Medical aid goods from other countries have started pouring into India since the end of April, but it is still not enough compared to the reality of the shortage in this country. Currently, in addition to urban areas suffering from severe epidemics, Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s government also spends some oxygen and medicine to urgently distribute to the states. However, with this little common ground, remote and isolated localities such as Chogath village (Gujarat state) still have to rely on their own strength.• Drop the body Ganges River because there is no money for cremation Newspaper Indian Express On May 10, Indians discovered more than 40 bodies washed up on the banks of the Ganges River near Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states in the north. Some news channels say that the number of bodies floating in the Ganges must be in the hundreds. In India, there is a custom that when a family member dies, the relatives will tie a stone to the body and drop it into the Ganges River – a sacred river for Hindus. However, many officials and locals believe that these bodies are those who died from COVID-19. Many bodies were partially burned and locals explained that the bodies were not cremated or cremated incompletely due to a severe shortage of firewood. Another reason families choose to drop their loved ones’ bodies in the river is because they can’t stand the cost of cremation, many health workers told the newspaper. New York Times . Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are two of India’s poorest states and are home to about 370 million people. Doctors warn people not to use cow dung on their bodies in the belief that it will help their immune systems deal with the virus or help them recover faster if they get sick. Hindus believe cows are a symbol of life and cow dung or cow urine is therapeutic. However, according to doctors, not only is there no scientific evidence that this can defeat COVID-19 but can also bring many other disease risks.