The pandemic “tsunami” of the past months hit and nearly collapsed India’s public health system on a large scale, in the period from mid-April to early June. In this context, thanks to careful preparation and sound resource investment strategy, southern Indian states like Tamil Nadu suffered less severe damage than other regions, according to the report. Financial Times . Prepare early for the bad scenario Jacob John, a doctor at a medical school in the city of Vellore, said the number of patients treated at the hospital where he worked at one time reached “uncontrollable thresholds”. At that time, the hospital’s 900 beds were filled, causing the facility to refuse to accept more patients and nearly drain its reserve of breathing air for treatment. But when a catastrophic second wave of disease hit Tamil Nadu and other southern states, places like Vellore were able to withstand the worst Covid-19 tragedy. The ability of these states to fight the epidemic is largely due to the planned and effective investment in the public health care system in the southern states. A woman has her blood pressure checked before getting a Covid-19 vaccine in Tamil Nadu, India. Photo: PTI. Experts say that in many other parts of India, the lack of investment and reconstruction for the public health system was exposed when the Covid-19 tsunami swept through. Tamil Nadu is recording about 22,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 500 deaths every day. Under that pressure, Tamil Nadu officials still managed to push back the wave of the epidemic. “The current situation is very difficult. We do not have enough intensive care beds and are forced to refuse to accept many patients,” said Dr. John. “I’m not saying we’re perfect, but when the wave is over, I’m sure the investments in the public health system will save lives.” Before the second Covid-19 storm made landfall, healthcare systems in many other parts of the country, including the capital New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, were nearly completely collapsed. whole. Many patients die from lack of oxygen while the crematorium is overloaded, causing some families to choose to let their bodies float in the river. New Delhi fell before the pandemic, the number of deaths increased sharply, overloading the crematoriums. Photo: Reuters. Although the southern states of India have also “tasteed” the Covid-19 tragedy, experts say that these localities are resilient to cope with the recent outbreak of the disease. “Thanks to a well-developed healthcare infrastructure, the situation in the southern states is not as shocking as in many other places,” said Ratan Jalan, founder of Medium Healthcare Consulting. India’s southern states account for about 250 million of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion population. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are leaders in healthcare, with indicators such as infant mortality rates consistently low. Except for the state of Karnataka, other parts of South India have abundant medical supplies and many medical colleges. The Sustainable Development Report released by the United Nations and government think tanks in early June also ranks the southern states as having the best public health care systems in India. Authorities in these states also issued a blockade order in May. The strategy helped reduce the number of new Covid-19 cases, temporarily controlling the spread of the pathogen. However, Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka and India’s tech hub, still has a higher number of SARS-CoV-2 infections than other major cities. According to Ravi Mehta, an emergency worker at Apollo Hospital in Bangalore, when the hospital set up a new treatment ward at the end of April, all 30 beds were empty in just 90 minutes. When the treatment area was replenished with 70 beds, it was completely empty in less than 3 hours. Although the pressure has now eased, the hospital’s intensive care unit is still full, and is now used to treat patients with serious complications. Resource disparity States like Maharashtra in western India are also highly rated for their ability to respond to the Covid-19 “tsunami”. However, no state in the west really fights the epidemic as effectively as in the south, according to Financial Times . Kerala, where India’s first Covid-19 case was detected in 2020, is a rare state in the west with many bright spots in disease response. During the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, Kerala health officials controlled the spread of the disease and brought the number of corona virus infections to zero in a few days in May 2020. The number of Covid-19 cases in Kerala increased to more than 40,000 cases per day in May, but quickly dropped to the threshold of 20,000 cases per day, according to the report. Financial Times . Experts say the authorities of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have tackled the crisis by building networks of healthcare workers to help sick people find treatment. They have also created strategic systems to distribute resources such as oxygen and oxygen tanks, preventing severe shortages. The high number of infections in the southern states of India and at the same time reflect widespread testing, provide a full picture of the epidemic situation. Medical staff in Kerala, India take samples to test for Covid-19. Photo: Indian Express. On the other hand, the fact that the southern states better control the epidemic also exposes the inequality between rich and poor in the world’s No. 2 epidemic center. In May, at least 20 patients at a hospital in rural Karnataka died from lack of oxygen. In Goa, the southern tourist hub, many patients died from inadequate breathing air. PV Ramesh, a doctor and former senior civil servant in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southeastern India, said the Covid-19 crisis will force the whole country to acknowledge the failure of the medical system. public economy of this country. “This outbreak is still seen as an oxygen supply crisis rather than a management crisis (by health officials), Mr. Ramesh said. “As the wave of disease subsides, people will return to normalcy,” Ramesh said. went back to business as usual and didn’t learn any lessons.” 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.

In this South Asian country, it is easy to find similar shrines dedicated to Covid-19 and other plagues. “Goddess Corona is the only hope” Since the outbreak of the pandemic, India has recorded more than 27 million cases and more than 322,000 deaths from Covid-19. The latest outbreak that began in March has left the country’s health system in crisis because of a lack of hospital beds and oxygen. In states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, women gather near temples or under sacred trees to worship the corona virus, which is realized in the form of a goddess known as “Corona Maa”. . They sit around in a circle and perform rituals, offering milk, coconuts, flowers and sweets to the deity. Some chanted prayers to appease the goddess’ wrath. Bimla Kumari, a resident of Patna, the capital of Bihar state, said: “We are worshiping ‘Corona Maa’ so that our family members remain safe from the virus. The goddess’s wrath will be appeased with offerings, for she is an angry goddess, not a benevolent goddess. The hospitals are overcrowded and the government doesn’t care. So the goddess is our only hope.” After worshiping “Corona Maa” under a banyan tree with his friends, Kumari said “luckily, everyone gathered here today is healthy”. Monks perform a prayer ritual before the god “Corona Devi” at Kamatchipuri Adhinam temple in Coimbatore city to ask for blessings and help people overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: AFP. In India, there is a long tradition that in times of disaster, people turn to faith to alleviate suffering. The worshipers of Sheetla Mata – the goddess of smallpox – believed that she would protect them from the disease by killing the demons believed to cause it. Goddess Sheetla Mata is said to be the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga. A 300-year-old temple in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, is dedicated to this goddess Sheetla Mata. In addition, some other temples specialize in praying for healing. These places worship male deities, for example Vaitheeswaran temple in the town of Mayiladuthurai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Here, devotees pray before the incarnation of Lord Shiva. Mahadeva Temple in Kerala state is where devotees come to cure epilepsy and chronic asthma. In the Tumkur district of neighboring Karnataka state, cancer patients regularly visit the Areyuru Vaidhyanatheshwara temple. They believe that this temple can cure them without treatment with modern medicine. The Pataleshwar Temple in the city of Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh – now closed due to the pandemic – is often a popular destination for people with skin diseases. Many pilgrims come here to ask for blessings by bringing brooms as offerings or sweeping the floors of the temple. Broom shops near temples are usually very expensive on weekends. After offering, most brooms are returned to the seller and continue to be sold to the next person. Elsewhere in the state of Uttar Pradesh, a hand pump at the Jagnewa Hanuman temple pumps up water that many believe has healing powers. Believers believe that a saint touched the pump and infused it with healing powers. They take water in a glass bottle and pour it over the patient’s body in the belief that they will be cured. Anant Kumar, a local, said: ‘My daughter’s chronic asthma – a disease that modern medicine could not cure for many years – disappeared within a month after she took it. water is taken from this manual pump”. Monks worship idols of god Shiva and goddess Parvati at a temple in Prayagraj city, India. Photo: AP. Cultural traditions or superstition? Millions of Indians place their trust in such “healing” temples. Meanwhile, many people are still skeptical about this and think that this is superstition. Harsh Bhagnani, an engineer in Mumbai, said: “Healing temples are just as effective as a placebo for fanatics. Curative therapies should be rooted in modern science and medicine.” Some opponents of these temples argue that the reason people flock here is because the health care system in India is not focused on investment. According to the results of the Human Development Report 2020 of the United Nations Development Program, India ranks 155 out of 167 countries in terms of the number of hospital beds available to meet people’s needs. The country-specific rate is 5 hospital beds and 8.6 doctors per 10,000 population. However, for RP Mitra, a professor of anthropology at Delhi University, these religious rituals are deeply rooted in the Indian subconscious. Indian hospitals are overwhelmed by the second wave of Covid-19, with shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen. Photo: Reuters. “These temples are a fulcrum, helping believers in times of insecurity, fear, and suffering caused by deadly diseases. The temples can be seen as a supernatural complex.” Professor Mitra analyzed. He said religious people may still want to receive divine blessings and still have faith in modern medicine, as the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. “Whether it’s traditional Chinese medicine or ancient therapies practiced across countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal or India, religious beliefs have always been incorporated into traditional medicine,” he said. said more. Countries rush to send medical supplies to India Before the request for support from India, some countries rushed to send medical equipment, including ventilators and oxygen generators, to support the South Asian country in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Production of iPhone 12 at Foxconn’s factory in India fell by more than 50%. (Source: Reuters) Foxconn’s facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu specializes in manufacturing iPhones for India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market. Tamil Nadu is one of the hardest hit states in the second wave of Covid-19 that is sweeping across India. Authorities have imposed a complete blockade in the state since May 10, suspending public transport and closing shopping centers to prevent the number of infections from increasing. Reuters Citing two sources, more than 100 Foxconn employees in the state have tested positive for Covid-19 and the company has issued a ban on entering the Chennai factory until the end of May. A source stated that employees were only allowed to leave the factory but not enter since yesterday and only a small part of production is being maintained. Currently, the company has cut more than 50% of the factory’s capacity. However, the sources did not specify the capacity of the plant and did not say how many employees work at the facility. India has benefited from Apple moving some manufacturing from China to other markets. The company announced in March that it had begun assembling iPhone 12 in India. Although Apple’s market share is quite small in the mainly low-cost Indian market, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in January that its business in India doubled in the fourth quarter. 2020 year-over-year, thanks to the launch of an online store. According to market research firm Canalys, Apple’s growth momentum in India continued in the first quarter of 2021, with the business shipping more than one million iPhones. Demand for iPhone 12 is driven by domestic assembly and attractive financial incentives. Foxconn is not the only manufacturer in India affected by the raging Covid-19 epidemic. Nokia and Chinese smartphone maker Oppo last year also suspended production at their factories in the South Asian country after employees tested positive for Covid-19. Meanwhile, technology research firm TrendForce based in Taipei, Taiwan (China) on May 10 lowered its forecast for global smartphone output growth this year from 9.4% to 9.4%. 8.5%, citing that the outbreak in India is affecting major suppliers such as Samsung and Apple. (according to Reuters)

Empty oxygen tanks were transported to production plants by Indian Air Force C-17 and IL-76 transports. (Photo: ANI) By all means, day and night, the Government of India is working hard to produce and transport as much medical oxygen as possible to areas severely affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, including the capital New Delhi and the states in the West and South. The country’s Supreme Court even allowed the operation of a copper production complex in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has been suspended, only for the purpose of bringing back an industrial oxygen production plant located there. production to meet current urgent needs. However, severe shortages and even depletion of oxygen still occur in hotspots of disease. So the reason is why? A cargo train transports liquid oxygen vehicles from Visakhapatnam city, Andhra Pradesh state to Maharashtra state – India’s largest Covid-19 epidemic zone. (Photo: ANI) Hospital has depleted medical oxygen? The current emergency scarcity is not that Indian hospitals have run out of oxygen. Is that oxygen being delivered to these locations in time? The delay in delivering this product originated from the location of the manufacturing plant. In the capital New Delhi, for example, over the past week, many hospitals that do not have the capacity to meet their own medical oxygen needs have struggled to find emergency supplies. However, at the same time, the epidemic situation in neighboring New Delhi such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana also progressed too badly. local demand in advance. As a result, hospitals in New Delhi have to place orders from factories further away in industrial zones in eastern India. Oxygen storage tanks in a hospital warehouse in New Delhi. (Photo: ANI) New problem arises again Industrial oxygen production plants serving the Indian capital are located in seven different states. Some factories are more than 1,000 kilometers from New Delhi. Due to the flammable nature of this material, all liquefied oxygen shipments must be transported in special storage tanks, with detailed shipping plans to ensure on-time delivery. And over the past few days, when the demand for medical oxygen in India has peaked, localities have acted to make it difficult to transport oxygen to meet the local demand first. Because of these moves, New Delhi received only 177 tons of pure oxygen on April 21, instead of 378 tons as allocated. However, some local sources claim that hospitals in New Delhi have made it difficult for themselves to order goods without taking into account the time it takes to transport oxygen across many states by road. “The problem did not arise if they calculated and ordered from 2-3 weeks ago.” This source told the Economic Times. The New Delhi government also did not respond to questions about the planning. A Covid-19 patient had to breathe oxygen while waiting to be placed in a hospital bed at LNJP Hospital, New Delhi. (Photo: ANI) India has enough capacity to produce oxygen for medical purposes India’s daily oxygen production capacity can amount to as little as 7,100 tons, including for industrial purposes. This amount is sufficient to meet the current demand. This week, the Government of India decided to allocate 6,822 tons of liquid oxygen per day to the 20 states most affected by Covid-19. This amount is larger than the total demand of these localities, which is 6,785 tons. Thus, the demand for oxygen for health care in India has nearly doubled in just one week. On April 12, the amount of oxygen required by the health sector was only about 3,842 tons. According to the Office of the Prime Minister of India, India’s oxygen capacity has increased by 3,300 tons in just a few days by shifting resources for steel production and industry to the medical sector. All of which are intended to serve Covid-19 patients The logistics of transporting oxygen is a priority at the moment. The Indian government has mobilized freight trains to move liquid oxygen tanks from the factory to localities in urgent need. The country uses Air Force cargo jets to transfer empty tanks to the factory. Then these oxygen tanks are refilled again and returned by road. In addition, the Indian military is importing 23 mobile oxygen production machines from Germany to prepare for the worse situation. Many industries are also reported to be supporting pure oxygen in hospitals. Tata multidisciplinary corporation of India has imported 24 specialized containers to transport liquid oxygen. The government has also ordered the conversion of argon and nitrogen storage tanks for medical oxygen transport. However, according to experts, with the increasing rate of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections as in the past days with more than 300,000 people per day, the demand for oxygen for medical purposes will continue to escalate. India needs to prepare to increase production and distribution of this particular type of medical supplies in the coming days.