How India's Most Crowded City Mumbai Beat The Odds, And Covid

As 2020 wore on, it looked like India might have beaten Covid. But in Mumbai, authorities didn't dismantle a single bed. The result: Mumbai's health system did not collapse.

When COVID-19 arrived in India, few places looked as vulnerable as Mumbai. But a year on, South Asia's most crowded city has surprised many by tackling a vicious second wave with considerable success. Gaurav Awasthi even travelled hundreds of kilometres from his home on the outskirts of Delhi to get his ailing wife a hospital bed there, paying an ambulance more than a thousand dollars to drive 24 hours straight. "I cannot ever repay my debt to this city," the 29-year-old told AFP, recounting an ordeal that saw him spend five days fruitlessly searching for a bed across several cities, including Delhi. "I don't know if my wife would be alive today if it weren't for Mumbai's health facilities."