India breaches 200,000 daily Covid-19 cases as hospital beds, oxygen fall short

Patients sit on bed waiting to be moved to a hospital, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India

India reported a record 200,000 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday and the financial hub of Mumbai entered a lockdown, as many hospitals treating coronavirus patients reported severe shortages of beds and oxygen supplies. The surge was the seventh record daily increase in the last eight days and comes as India battles a massive second wave of infections that has its epicentre in the economically significant state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai. The western state accounts for about a quarter of the country's total cases. India reported 200,739 Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data released Thursday. Deaths stood at 1,038, taking the total to 173,123. The total case load reached 14.1 million, only second to the United States, which leads the global tally with 31.4 million cases.