India Deaths Hit New High Again... New Cases Over 260,000

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] India’s daily COVID-19 death toll has once again set a new record. The number of new confirmed cases reached 260,000.

According to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the 18th, the daily death toll as of that morning was recorded at 4,329.

India’s new daily death toll had reached a peak of 4,205 on the 12th, then slightly decreased before setting a new record again on this day.

The cumulative death toll stands at 278,719.

Some experts suggest that the actual number could be several times higher if deaths not captured in the statistics are included.

Local media reported that crematoriums and burial sites are overwhelmed with bodies, leading some residents to dispose of corpses in the Ganges River and other places.

There have also been testimonies that ambulance drivers threw the bodies of COVID-19 victims into the river from bridges.

More than 90 bodies presumed to be COVID-19 victims have been found floating in the Ganges River, and hundreds of shallowly buried bodies have been discovered along the riverbanks.

Due to the severe spread of COVID-19, the number of doctors sacrificing their lives on the front lines of quarantine efforts has also significantly increased.

Local media, citing the Indian Medical Association, reported that 244 doctors have died during the second wave this year, with 50 of them passing away in a single day on the 16th.

During the first wave last year, 736 doctors died, bringing the total number of doctors who have died from COVID-19 to nearly 1,000.

The number of new confirmed cases is 263,533. After peaking at 414,188 on the 7th, the number has been on a downward trend.

The cumulative number of confirmed cases is 25,228,996, ranking second in the world after the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.