Where will the next COVID hotspots be?

Dr Khan explains how India’s troubles are spreading across the sub-continent, while pregnant women are dying in Brazil.

Since its original outbreak in Wuhan we have seen the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic move from the Far East to Europe and the US and, as wealthier countries vaccinate their way out of their own crises, the epicentre has swung back to hit less developed nations in South Asia. India has seen a rapid and well-publicised increase in COVID cases. After a stepwise easing of restrictions across the country throughout 2020, India’s leader, President Narendra Modi, declared the country was in the “end game” of the pandemic. Soon after this bold statement, large religious and political gatherings were allowed to take place with little regard for social distancing and, inevitably, cases began to soar. On May 3, India hit the grim milestone of 20 million COVID cases, though the true number is thought to be much higher.