India’s Health System Cracks Under the Strain as Coronavirus Cases Surge

At least 22 people died from loss of oxygen in a hospital accident. Infections hit a daily record. And the government faced criticism for allowing an enormous Hindu festival to continue.

NEW DELHI — India’s health care system shows signs of buckling under the strain of a second wave of coronavirus infections, as the authorities reported nearly 300,000 new cases on Wednesday and an accident at a Covid-19 hospital killed more than 20 people. The accident happened at a hospital in the western state of Maharashtra after a leak in the hospital’s main oxygen tank stopped the flow of oxygen to dozens of critically ill people. Televised images showed family members wailing in the wards and nurses frantically pounding on the chests of some patients. All week, hospitals across India have been warning about an acute oxygen shortage. Many hospital officials said they were just a few hours away from running out.“Nobody imagined this would happen,” said Subhash Salunke, a medical adviser to the Maharashtra government.