Authorities in India scramble to get oxygen tanks to COVID-19 patients amid record-breaking crush of cases

COVID-19 is once again surging across the globe. In the past two weeks, the number of deaths worldwide has risen 12% and daily cases are up 27%. 

Nowhere is the spike more apparent than in India, where cases have exploded to more than 300,000 per day. The country has set a global daily record for new cases for a third day straight, with more than 346,000 new infections reported.  The surge has left hospitals overburdened and out of oxygen supplies and beds, prompting some to shut admissions, the Associated Press reports. On Saturday, authorities were scrambling to get oxygen tanks to suffocating patients, using special Oxygen Express trains, trucks and air force planes to move tankers.