India is losing its battle against COVID-19, as the country's death toll exceeds 200,000 on Wednesday, Apr. 28, and new cases averaged more than 300,000 since Saturday, Apr. 24.
To help India, global and local conglomerates, including Amazon, and India's oldest company Tata Sons, step in to help the country combat the deadly coronavirus.
India's COVID-19 Situation
As of Wednesday, Apr. 28, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) reports that the country's total deaths reached 201,187 as the country finds itself with 3,293 fatalities in a single day.
The total number of new cases on Tuesday, Apr. 27 has reached 360,927, up to more than 37,000 from the day before, bringing the total active cases to 2,978,709.
The COVID-19 surge in India had overwhelmed its healthcare system that officials were forced to turn patients away due to lack of vital medical supplies.
Patients who are infected with Covid-19 coronavirus can be seen wearing Oxygen masks as free Oxygen was supplied as a part of public service for the people in need by a Gurdwara or a Sikh Holy place amid the rising concerns over lack of Oxygen on April 24, 2021 in New Delhi, India.
"We make hundreds of calls and send messages every day to get our daily quota of oxygen," said Artemis hospital's Dr. Devlina Chakravarty.
Mayom Hospital Chief Executive Manish Prakash said that they were forced to accept new admissions unless patients brought along oxygen cylinders with them.
Experts speculated that one of the factors of the sudden spread of the virus was due to a coronavirus mutation that infects those who have recovered from COVID-19.
Udaya Regmi, South Asia head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), expressed that vaccinations for all adults need to be rolled out as soon as possible.
"This is both an ethical and public health imperative," said Regmi. "As variants keep spreading, this pandemic is far from over until the whole world is safe."
Also Read: France Pledges to Send Crucial COVID-19 Medical Aid to India
Amazon, Indian Firms Steps In
Global and local conglomerates have stepped up and used their industrial muscle to help combat India's battle against COVID-19.
Amazon on Tuesday, Apr. 27, announced that they had purchased 100 ICU ventilator units through its global resources to send to India immediately.
"With the urgency of adding to the medical infrastructure and capacity for Indian hospitals fighting against COVID-19's severe second spike, we decided to urgently source, import, and donate 100 ventilators to hospitals to be identified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India," said Amit Agarwal, Amazon India's Global SVP & Country Head.
Meanwhile, India's Tata Group imported 24 cryogenic containers that are used to transport liquid oxygen, while its Tata Steel increased the production for oxygen supply.
JSW, India's largest steelmaker, stopped producing select construction raw material to divert their resources to produce liquid oxygen instead; supplying 898 tons each day that supplies 13% of the country's combined daily demand.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had also pledged to send help to his hometown, and said he would do his part to alleviate the country's need for oxygen.
Related Article: Microsoft's Bill Gates: This is How We End the Pandemic
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Written by Leigh Mercer
