TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Covid-19 situation is escalating rapidly in India. India's Ministry of Health reported more than 310,000 new cases of infections on Thursday, April 22, a new record for new cases in 24 hours.

This is the highest ever recorded number per day, exceeding the US' 300,669 cases on January 8, although there are differences in the testing rates, and India's lack of widespread testing.

Over the last two months, India has experienced deteriorating situations related to Covid-19. Hospitals are reportedly short on oxygen, and ambulances are lined up outside hospitals because there are no ventilators for new patients.

The Covid-19 death rate had also begun to increase dramatically. On Thursday, the Indian government recorded 2,104 deaths. Over the past week, more than 1,600 people have died each day. Although these are smaller numbers compared to the United States or Brazil during their worst periods of the pandemic, it is a sharp increase from two months ago, when less than 100 people in India died every day.

Critics claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who imposed a national lockdown in March 2020, failed to anticipate the arrival of a second wave of outbreaks. He is deemed to have failed to warn citizens and remind them to stay alert and vigilant, especially as more infectious variants have begun to spread.

Modi also received criticism for allowing a massive Hindu festival to take place, which drew millions of pilgrims to flock to the banks of the Ganges.

India's reported caseload currently totals more than 15.9 million, the second biggest in the world after the United States' 31.9 million.

Worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's calculation, 144.2 million people have been infected with the virus.

NEW YORK TIMES | REUTERS