India is struggling to deal with shortages and many deaths as a possible new variant of the coronavirus keeps new infections at record levels. On social media and on television, there are pictures of people asking for oxygen outside hospitals. People also are mourning in the street for loved ones who died while waiting for treatment. One woman explained the death of her younger brother, age 50. He was turned away by two hospitals and died waiting to be seen at another. He could not get the oxygen he needed to keep breathing. She blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for the crisis. “He has lit funeral pyres in every house,” she cried in a video by The Caravan magazine. On Sunday, or the fourth straight day, India set a record for the world’s highest number of new coronavirus infections. The increase hurts the government’s claim of victory over the pandemic. On Monday, India ordered its military to help control the growing number of new coronavirus infections, as countries including Britain, Germany and the United States promised to send urgent medical aid. Around 350,000 new infections brought India’s total to more than 16.9 million, behind only the United States. Recently, the Health Ministry reported another 2,767 deaths in a 24-hour period. The number of deaths reported could be lower than the real number. That is because not all cases are confirmed. Some deaths are recorded as being from other causes.
