"India accounts for 1 in 3 new Covid cases being recorded. Here is its second wave in 5 charts"

" \n India\u2019s second wave of Covid-19 infections shows no signs of slowing down as the country\u2019s overwhelmed health-care system faces supply shortages for hospital beds, oxygen, medicines and vaccines. \n \n\n \n The World Health Organization said last week that one in every three new coronavirus cases globally is being reported in India. \n \n\n \n Prime Minister\u00a0Narendra Modi\u2019s\u00a0government is facing criticism for allowing large crowds to gather for religious festivals and election rallies in various parts of the country.\u00a0Commentators said the mass gatherings\u00a0likely\u00a0turned into super spreader events. \n \n\n \n Cases in the second wave started rising in February, when India reported an average of about 10,000 infections a day. But the situation progressively worsened in April, ending the month by repeatedly setting new global records for daily cases. India kicked off May by\u00a0reporting more than 400,000 new cases. \n \n\n \n Nearly 7 million cases were reported for the month, a huge share of the more than 19 million India has recorded during the entire pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n Scientists say the spike in cases is partially due to variants of the coronavirus circulating in India at the moment. \n \n\n \n \u201cThere is at least emergence of two important dominant variants, one is a U.K. variant, one is an Indian variant,\u201d Manoj Murhekar, director of the National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, told CNBC on Friday. \n \n\n \n The Indian government\u00a0reportedly said last month that 80% of cases in Punjab\u00a0were due to the highly contagious U.K. variant, which is known as B.1.1.7. \n \n\n \n Meanwhile, the Indian variant is known as B.1.617 and has multiple sub-lineages with slightly different characteristic mutations. The WHO classified it as a variant of interest in its\u00a0epidemiological update on the pandemic last week. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n Maharashtra, which is home to India\u2019s financial capital Mumbai, is the hardest hit state and also the epicenter for the second wave. \n \n\n \n India\u2019s richest state went into\u00a0a lockdown in mid-April\u00a0to break the chain of transmission.\u00a0Reports said\u00a0Maharashtra\u2019s state government extended restrictions until May 15. \n \n\n \n Murhekar told CNBC that at the moment, very little is known about what proportion of the infected cases are due to a variant. He said India needs to step up its surveillance for variants so that there\u2019s meaningful data from each region and state on which variants are circulating in each. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n In April, India crossed 200,000 reported deaths. JHU data showed more than 48,000 people lost their lives to the disease last month. \n \n\n \n Though the death rate is comparatively low, it is likely that there is an undercounting of fatalities as\u00a0multiple media reports\u00a0suggest crematoriums and burial grounds are\u00a0overwhelmed with bodies\u00a0of those who died from Covid-19. \n \n\n \n The\u00a0international community has responded\u00a0with promises to send help to India, including\u00a0$100 million in medical aid from the United States. \n \n\n \n Experts have said that India\u2019s best shot at tackling the outbreak is by stepping up its vaccination efforts. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n Since launching its mass inoculation drive in January, India has administered more than 154 million vaccine doses as of April 30,\u00a0according to government data. \n \n\n \n That implies a little over 10% of the population has received at least one of the two shots required. But the percentage of people who have completed their vaccination is only about 2% of the total population, at around 27.9 million as of April. \n \n\n \n Starting in May, India is opening vaccinations to anyone age 18 and older. \n \n\n \n Murhekar said that the kind of herd immunity India needs to reduce transmission can only be achieved through vaccination. \n \n\n \n \u201cIt will take many days and many months, basically, till we have a critical mass, which is vaccinated against Covid,\u201d he added. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n But the country is facing vaccine shortages and several states have\u00a0reportedly run out of supply. \n \n\n \n The supply crunch is expected to last through July, according to the CEO of India\u2019s top vaccine maker, Serum Institute, which is producing\u00a0AstraZeneca\u2019s\u00a0shot. Adar Poonawalla\u00a0recently told the Financial Times\u00a0that his firm is set to increase vaccine production capacity from about 60 million to 70 million doses a month to 100 million. \n \n\n \n The other vaccine being administered is Bharat Biotech\u2019s Covaxin. \n \n\n \n New Delhi has recently approved the Russia-developed Sputnik V and authorized\u00a0foreign-made vaccines that have been granted emergency approval\u00a0by the U.S., U.K., European Union, Japan and World Health Organization-listed agencies. \n "

"India accounts for 1 in 3 new Covid cases being recorded. Here is its second wave in 5 charts"

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