Hit with Second Wave, India Becomes COVID-19 Hotspot
Voice of America
NEW DELHI - India has become the global hotspot for the COVID-19 pandemic, counting the world’s highest numbers of daily new infections in recent days as it grapples with a second wave of the pandemic weeks after witnessing a dramatic decline. The #Pandemic isn't over and there is no scope for complacency On #WorldHealthDay2021 infuse greater zeal to #Unite2FightCorona, get vaccinated on your turn & follow COVID appropriate behaviour scrupulously! @PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA #LargestVaccineDrive https://t.co/KSqfJ1xriq
The impact of the swift surge in the virus, in the world’s biggest vaccine maker, will be felt far beyond its shores as India slows vaccine shipments to other countries. Health experts blame many people in the vast populous country for virtually abandoning COVID protocols as cases tumbled earlier this year. Huge crowds, mostly without masks, have been jostling at massive political rallies being held in five states holding local elections. A month-long religious festival that sees hundreds congregate daily to take a dip in the river Ganges that Hindus consider holy is underway in the northern state of Uttarakhand. Weddings and family events have become bigger.FILE - A tablet displays the logo of Facebook parent Meta Platforms. Meta and other companies are churning out new AI language models and hoping to convince customers they've got the smartest, handiest or most efficient chatbots. FILE - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicks off the tech giant's Connect developer conference, Sept. 27, 2023, in Menlo Park, Calif. Meta on April 18, 2024, unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems.
Chairs are set for missing members of the Bibas family who are held hostage in Gaza at a Passover Seder table April 11, 2024, at Israel's Kibbutz Nir Oz, where a quarter of all residents were killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Shlomi Berger sits in his daughter's bedroom in Holon, Israel, April 17, 2024. Osnat Peri, right, whose husband, Haim, is in Hamas captivity, takes part in a Passover Seder commemoration with relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, at the communal dining room at Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel, April 11, 2024.
FILE - A line of Holstein dairy cows feed through a fence at a dairy farm in Idaho on March 11, 2009. Since March 2024, a strain of avian influenza has been found in dairy cow herds in eight U.S. states. FILE - Researchers collect samples of wildlife, where the H5N1 bird flu virus was detected, at Chilean Antarctic Territory, Antarctica, in this handout photo obtained March 13, 2024. (Instituto Antartico Chileno/Handout via Reuters)
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, center, prepares for a sentencing hearing in state district court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 15, 2024. (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool) FILE - A musician plays a violin behind a photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Oct. 23, 2021.
Performers take part in the final dress rehearsal of the flame lighting ceremony for the Paris Olympics, at the Ancient Olympia site, Greece, April 15, 2024. Actress Mary Mina, playing a priestess, hands an olive branch to the first torch bearer, Greek olympic gold medalist Stefanos Douskos, during the final dress rehearsal of the flame lighting ceremony for the Paris Olympics at the Ancient Olympia site, Greece, April 15, 2024. Actress Mary Mina, playing a priestess, lights the flame during the final dress rehearsal of the flame lighting ceremony for the Paris Olympics, at the Ancient Olympia site, Greece, April 15, 2024. Performers take part in the final dress rehearsal of the flame lighting ceremony for the Paris Olympics, at the Ancient Olympia site, Greece, April 15, 2024.