Government data showed at least another 3,293 people died, while overall cases also .rose by a record 360,960 reported infections

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India reports record new cases and
fatalities, official Covid death toll surpasses
200,000
Government data showed at least another 3,293 people died, while overall cases also
rose by a record 360,960 reported infections
.
Experts fear that a mutated variant of the coronavirus may be responsible for the
dramatic surge in India’s second wave
.
The Indian government faces mounting criticism for letting large crowds gather, mostly
without masks, for religious festivals and election rallies in various parts of the country
.
India reported a record daily death toll on Wednesday as total Covid-19 fatalities
crossed the 200,000 mark
.
According to government records, at least 3,293 people died in a 24-hour period.

2. Overall, 360,960 new infections were recorded, marking India's seventh consecutive
day of over 300,000 new infections
.
The overall number of Covid cases in the world is just under 18 million, with 201,187
deaths. However, recent media reports indicate that the regular fatality rate could be
underreported
.
The South Asian nation has registered more than 5.8 million new cases so far in April,
putting the country's health-care system on the verge of collapse
.
The international community responded by promising to give India much-needed
assistance. The US announced that it would give the South Asian nation the raw
materials needed to produce AstraZeneca's vaccine
.
According to data from India's health ministry, more than 145 million vaccine doses
have been distributed so far. However, only about 23.9 million people had received their
second doses as of Tuesday
.
Covid-19: India daily new cases and deaths
?
India’s Covid variant
Experts believe a mutant strain of the coronavirus is to blame for the second wave's
sudden increase in cases. India had been reporting a total of 10,000 new cases a day
before the revival
.
The virus has mutated many times since last year. Such variations are classified as
either "variant of interest" or "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization. A
variant of interest is one that has a higher rate of transmissibility and more acute illness,
such as higher rates of hospitalization or death
.
In its weekly epidemiological report on the pandemic, WHO named the B1617 variant,
which has several sub-lineages with significantly different characteristic mutations, as a
variant of significance. It was first discovered in India last October and was found in at
least 17 countries as of Tuesday, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and
Singapore
.
According to the study, the B1617 version is circulating in India alongside other
concerning variants, as well as variant B1618, which has been identified in some states.
According to the WHO, these versions may all be contributing to the latest revival
.

3. Ramifications
The Indian government is under fire for allowing huge crowds to assemble in different
parts of the country for religious festivals and election rallies, often without masks
.
According to Akhil Bery, a South Asia analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group,
last year's better-than-expected treatment of the first wave led to complacency in the
political elite, and subsequent questionable decisions added to the boom
.
Bery mentioned the government's decision to allow the weeks-long "Kumbh Mela"
religious festival to take place, which saw hundreds of thousands of people reportedly
take a dip in the Ganges river. That, he said, became a mega spreader affair, as did
election rallies in the eastern state of West Bengal hosted by various parties, including
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party
.
“
There have been some dubious decision-making here, and this is a major political
problem for Modi, at least in the short term,” Bery said on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia"
on Wednesday
.
“
There was a general expectation that India's health-care infrastructure would fail after
last year's boom. “This led to a sense of complacency within the political class, within
citizens... but, essentially, that complacency turned into this mindset, and now we're
seeing the end effects of that,” he said, adding, “This led to a sense of complacency
within the political class, within people... but, ultimately, that complacency fed into this
mentality, and now we're seeing the results of that
”.
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