Dozens of bodies wash up on banks of Ganges river as WHO declares Indian strain a ‘variant of concern’
Family members perform last rites of a COVID-19 victim on the banks of the Ganges river. Source: Pacific Press/Sipa USA
The bodies of dozens of suspected COVID-19 victims have washed up on the banks of the Ganges river in northern India.
Key points:
- Many of the bodies are believed to have been dumped, including by families who cannot afford wood for funeral pyres
- Experts believe the COVID crisis in India is far worse than official figures suggest
- The WHO has classified the Indian variant of the virus as being ‘of concern at a global level’
The pandemic has been spreading fast into India’s vast rural hinterland, overwhelming local health facilities as well as crematoriums and cemeteries.
Local official Ashok Kumar said about 40 corpses washed up in Buxar district near the border between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, two of India’s poorest states.
“We have directed concerned officials to dispose of all bodies, to either bury or cremate them,” Mr Kumar said.
Officials said some of them were bloated and partially burned and could have been in the river for several days.
Locals said they believed the bodies had been dumped in the river because cremation sites were overwhelmed or because relatives could not afford wood for funeral pyres.
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“It is really shocking for us,” said local resident Kameshwar Pandey.
The total number of bodies washed up on the river banks in Buxar and nearby could be as high as 100, reports said.
According to official statistics, about 4,000 people a day are dying from coronavirus in India, and the death toll has reached almost 250,000.
ndia recorded more than 750,000 new cases over the weekend, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, bringing the cumulative total past 22 million.
But citing anecdotal evidence from crematoriums, many experts believe that the true daily number could be several times higher.
This is particularly the case now that the current surge has spread beyond major cities into rural areas, where hospitals are few and far between and record-keeping is poor.
India-wide lockdown urged
Indian coronavirus infections and deaths have hovered around record daily highs consistently for weeks.
And health authorities have been reporting more and more cases of a dangerous black fungal infection in people recovering from COVID-19, adding to the crisis.
Many states have imposed strict lockdowns over the last month, while others have placed curbs on movement and shut cinemas, restaurants, pubs and shopping centres.
But pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown, as he did during the first wave of infections last year.
Internationally, there is a call for a full lockdown in India, including from White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci, which is backed by domestic bodies such as the Indian Medical Association.
Mr Modi is battling criticism for allowing huge gatherings at a religious festival and holding large election rallies during the past two months even as cases surged.
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New Delhi entered a fourth week of lockdown, with tougher curbs such as the shutdown of the suburban rail network, while residents scrambled for scarce hospital beds and oxygen supplies.
“This is not the time to be lenient,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
WHO classifies variant from India as being of global concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the coronavirus variant first identified in India last year was being classified as a variant of global concern, with some preliminary studies showing that it spread more easily.
The B.1.617 variant is the fourth variant to be designated as being of global concern and requiring heightened tracking and analysis. The others are those first detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
Values shown are 14-day averages.
“We are classifying this as a variant of concern at a global level,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO technical lead on COVID-19.
“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility.”
The variant has already spread to other countries, and many nations, including Australia, have moved to cut or restrict movements from India.
“Even though there is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies, we need much more information about this virus variant and this lineage and all of the sub-lineages,” said Dr Van Kerkhove.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the WHO Foundation was launching a “Together for India” appeal to raise funds to purchase oxygen, medicines and protective equipment for health workers.
ABC/ Wires
