There were around 50 other patients at the four-storey hospital in Bharuch in the western state of Gujarat when the blaze began in the early hours of the morning.It has since been extinguished.“As per information at 6.30 am, the death toll in the tragedy stood at 18. Immediately after the fire, we had confirmation of 12 deaths,” the Press Trust of India quoted a local police official as saying.On April 23 a fire on the outskirts of Mumbai killed 13 COVID-19 patients, a few days after another blaze left 22 people dead at another clinic, also in Maharashtra state.Last month 22 other coronavirus patients died at a hospital in the same state when the oxygen supply to their ventilators was disrupted by a leak.India’s health care system has long suffered from underfunding, and the new virus outbreak has seen critical shortages in oxygen, drugs and hospital beds, with patients dying outside hospitals in some areas.RECORD SURGE IN NEW CASESIndia has recorded over 400,000 new COVID cases in 24 hours for the first time, the first country to do so in the pandemic, official data showed.According to the health ministry, 401,993 new infections were registered taking the total caseload to 19.1 million. There were 3,523 deaths, bringing the toll to 211,853.India is meanwhile due to open up its jumbo vaccination drive to all adults, but many states don’t have the stocks as hospitals reel from the vicious surge.The 20 million residents of the hard-hit capital New Delhi will also stay in lockdown for another week.INDIA’S CRIPPLING VACCINE SHORTAGEIndia is facing a COVID-19 vaccine shortage as the vicious outbreak continues to break records with more than 400,000 cases diagnosed in 24 hours. The world’s second-most populous nation opened up its vaccination drive to all adults yesterday, but many states still lack stocks needed as hospitals remain at breaking point.Thousands lined up to get their vaccines — but some got to vaccine hubs where there were signs saying the jab was “out of stock”. The surge in cases has meant exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine by India’s Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech’s homegrown Covaxin have now been frozen to prioritise India’s needs.Until now, only India’s “frontline” workers like medical staff, people over 45 and those with existing illnesses have been given vaccines.But some areas are now running out of shots and others have thrown them away because of a lack of demand, in part because of the recent surge.“The queues here are so colossal,” said Jayanti Vasant as he waited for hours at a busy vaccination centre in Mumbai. “The people are just fighting among themselves.” The photographs of growing vaccination queues come after many have been forced to farewell loved ones at makeshift crematoriums across the country. In one photo a man was seen making a video call to family members during the last rites of a deceased relative in a disused granite quarry repurposed to cremate the dead in Bengaluru, India.So far around 150 million shots have been administered, equating to 11.5 per cent of the population of 1.3 billion people. Just 25 million have had two jabs.India vaccination drive is now being expanded to all Indians over 18, equating to around 600 million people.Millions of younger people are desperate have registered on the government’s digital platform but few have been given appointments and many states including the capital New Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab do not have enough stocks.The megacity of Mumbai paused all vaccinations for three days this week because it had run out.Further confusion has been created by New Delhi’s decision to ask states and private hospitals to order vaccine supplies on their own, creating a three-tier pricing system that requires them to pay more per dose than the central government.Anecdotal evidence suggests that some private clinics have been told they won’t receive any Serum is making 60-70 million AstraZeneca doses per month, and is aiming for 100 million by July. Bharat is aiming to produce 10 million a month and targets 60-70 million.Indian firms also have deals to produce other shots including Russia’s Sputnik V and Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, but it could be months until these are deployed.NED-3679-Indias-Mutant-Covid-19US AND AUSTRALIA IMPOSE TRAVEL BANSThe US is now restricting travel from India from May 4, after Australia announced its ban and jail threat to travellers from the COVID-ravaged nation.People arriving in Australia from India could face five years jail as the country strengthens an earlier travel ban, the government announced Saturday, in a bid to prevent the outbreak from spreading to its shores.From Monday, any traveller into Australia who has been in India in the past 14 days could face fines and jail time, adding to a temporary ban announced earlier this week, which will remain in place until at least May 15.The threat came after travellers on indirect flights from India exposed a loophole in the government’s attempt to temporarily block arrivals from the South Asian nation.“The government does not make these decisions lightly,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a statement.“However, it is critical the integrity of the Australian public health and quarantine systems is protected, and the number of COVID-19 cases in quarantine facilities is reduced to a manageable level.” NED-3714-India-Covid-GraphsOUTRAGE OVER TRAVEL BAN, JAIL THREATThe announcement, which is the first to specifically threaten jail for those breaching a travel ban, was labelled “outrageous” by Human Rights Watch.“The government should be looking for ways to safely quarantine Australians returning from India, instead of focusing their efforts on prison sentences and harsh punishments,” Human Rights Watch Australia Director Elaine Pearson said.On Friday, daily cases in India climbed to 385,000 — a new global record — with almost 3,500 deaths, according to official data that many experts suspect falls short of the true toll.Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected calls for charter flights to return thousands of citizens — including high-profile cricketers — stranded in India.Australia closed its international borders to most non-citizens in March 2020, and those allowed to travel must spend 14 days in quarantine hotels on their return.
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