Albert Taperek

  India has reached the devastating figure of 200,000 coronavirus deaths, with the pressure on many hospitals showing no sign of abating amid a surging second wave. What's worse the real number of fatalities are thought to be much higher. Mortality data in India is poor and deaths at home often go unregistered, especially in rural areas. In order to help India several countries such as the UK Singapore. Russia, New Zealand, France, and the USA have sent a great amount of medical equipment. To be honest, I am not surprised by the current situation in India at all. It’s a huge, densely populated country, which for ages has struggled with poverty and in poorer countries, people care more about working, so that they have something to eat than obeying restrictions. Moreover in April, as I wrote some time ago, Indians celebrate Kumbh Mala, a fest during which the chances of getting infected are much higher. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56919924

  Massive crowds are expected to gather at India’s northern city of Haridwar throughout April 2021 for the religious festival of Kumbh Mela, despite the country’s grappling with a COVID-19 surge. The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage held every 12 years at sacred tirthas, or river-ford sites, along the Ganges River in India. This year the government expects over a million pilgrims a day to bathe in the sacred river and even 5 million people are expected per day on the most auspicious days – April 12, 14 and 21 – for a total of 100 million celebrants. In my opinion, it’s a terrible idea to organize this pilgrimage considering that yesterday over 200 thousand Indians got infected. It’s obvious that during this festival the pilgrims will be praying, eating and bathing, often maskless and in close proximity with one another, drastically increasing the spread of the virus.   https://theconversation.com/india-prepares-for-kumbh-mela-worlds-largest-religious-gathering-amid-covid-19-...

Canada’s most populous region has declared a one-month stay-at-home order and announced plans for mobile vaccine teams to target high-risk workers – including teachers and factory and warehouse workers – as it battles a surge of Covid-19 cases. Launching the measures on Wednesday, the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, pleaded with residents to remain at home. Because of the B117 variant, new cases in Ontario have tripled throughout March. The surge has overwhelmed the province’s intensive care units, breaking records previously set during the previous second wave of the virus. In order to counter the enormous number of new cases, the province plans to vaccinate anyone 18 and older in the hardest-hit areas. In my opinion, Doug Ford has made an appropriate decision in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its variants. Obviously, it will have a negative impact on Canada’s economy and the vaccination plan seems to be hard to accomplish but it’s definitely worth trying.   https://www...