India Scrambles to Supply Oxygen as Covid-19 Patients Gasp for Breath

The Supreme Court ordered the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come up with a national oxygen distribution plan as coronavirus cases continue to set records.

NEW DELHI — Indian hospitals and government leaders scrambled for supplies of oxygen and other emergency aid on Friday, as the country reported another record number of new coronavirus infections and a rising death toll that has strained the country’s resources. India recorded more than 330,000 new cases in 24 hours, the health ministry said on Friday, the second consecutive day that the country has set a global record for daily infections. The reported death toll on Friday was more than 2,200, also a new high for the country. About half of the cases in Delhi, the capital city of more than 20 million people, are testing positive for a more contagious variant of the virus, first detected last year in India, that is afflicting younger people, said a health ministry official, Sujeet Singh.