We empathize beyond words with the people of India, with a population of 1.4 billion, the second-most populous nation after China, given the unwelcome tragedy it is experiencing from the coronavirus pandemic.
Events happening in the world’s most populous democracy suggest a strong reminder on the dangers of misplaced sense of security and contentment.
Thirteen months after the coronavirus pandemic swept through the 28 states and eight union territories, there are still people in the republic who say the virus is no more serious than the common flu, a popular line in the genesis of this health emergency raised by then US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Messias Bolsonaro.
Coronavirus infections in India have been hitting record peaks for the past few days and the death toll has been on the rise.
But experts say the official death count does not tell the full story.
For instance, during the week between April 18 and 25, India reported 2.24 million new coronavirus infections, the highest number recorded by any country in a seven-day period. It logged 16,257 deaths, almost double the 8,588 deaths recorded the previous week, according to its Health Ministry data.
Some 195,123 people have died while 17.3 million people have been infected with the virus in India, which has made Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “India First” mantra becoming a reality at least in one way: His country is now first in COVID-19 infections.
While the United States has more cases, Modi’s India just grabbed the record nobody wanted: the biggest single-day increase in infections which is more than 314,000.
And it is no rarity. India is now averaging more than 200,000 new cases per day, three months after Modi declared victory over the pandemic.
The real number of COVID fatalities could be much higher than the deaths recorded by India’s health departments across the country.
Which brings us to the situation at home, where authorities have reported more than 1.028 million COVID-19 infections, with death toll now gasping near 17,200 as of Thursday this week.
With our own experience, we know how the people of India must be feeling —disturbingly helpless—which should remind us constantly that we should never be complacent in front of this invisible enemy.