The numbers are grim. In the 24 hours to Sunday morning, India reported almost 350,000 new coronavirus cases, setting a record for the most Covid-19 infections for a fourth consecutive day. More than 2,000 lives were lost during this time, bringing the total national death toll to 190,000. As of Sunday, nearly 17 million residents have reportedly contracted the virus.
Behind these cold statistics are individual human beings, as is often pointed out. And it is impossible not to be moved by any of their stories: of those who suffer, have suffered or died; of their near and dear ones who have tried to get them much-needed medical attention; of medical professionals and other frontline workers who have risked their own lives in order to save those of others.
The deaths of 13 Covid-19 patients in a hospital fire in Mumbai on Friday tragically encapsulates a larger story, of the ailing healthcare infrastructure in many Indian cities. Hospitals have found themselves unable to take in more patients, faced by a shortage of beds, equipment, manpower and even medical oxygen. The country's pharmaceutical industry, which has been at the forefront of global vaccine production, is now struggling to deliver under the enormous pressure at home. And even as the various organs of government, civil society and the private sector urgently offer whatever help they can provide, warnings from frontline doctors that the surge is only the "tip of the iceberg" portend something more calamitous.
To some extent, what has happened in India could happen anywhere. Earlier in this pandemic, healthcare systems in countries like Italy and Brazil were completely overwhelmed. In the past year, it has become clear that a global effort and strict measures are needed to combat this pandemic and save lives.
Optimism in the course of progress fighting the pandemic always carries the danger of complacency. India escaped last year's first wave largely unscathed, due in part to an effective lockdown. In absolute terms, the country is implementing the world's largest Covid-19 inoculation drive, with 127 million doses already given. Thus some government officials, politicians and the public dropped their guard. Election campaigns, with large crowds, have been held in a handful of states. Religious festivals and various social gatherings, where people were seen without masks, became superspreaders. Health authorities, meanwhile, did not anticipate a need to stock up on medical oxygen and vaccines for a second wave that many experts have pointed out was all but inevitable.
Amid the chaos, the international community is rightly rallying around India. Saudi Arabia is sending liquid oxygen; the UAE and Singapore are in talks to export oxygen tankers; Germany has offered oxygen generation plants. Members of US Congress, meanwhile, are pressing their government to support India's proposal at the World Trade Organisation to grant a waiver from intellectual property rights protections to Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics and related technologies.
Even India's so-called adversaries are pitching in. Pakistan, with which it has fought three wars, is offering to send ambulances and volunteers. China, with which it is embroiled in a border dispute, is offering technological support.
Undoubtedly, there are lessons to be learnt from the Indian example and its current devastating surge. But now is the time for solidarity with India and its people.
Time and again, this pandemic has shown how inter-connected and inter-dependent the world really is. Despite the efforts by some nations to go it alone, no one country can solve all of its problems by itself.
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
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Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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- Price: Not announced yet
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
