‘Entire Families’ Wiped Out by Covid’s Carnage in Rural India

After devastating India’s biggest cities, the latest Covid-19 wave is now ravaging rural areas across the world’s second-most populous country. And most villages have no way to fight the virus.

In Basi, about 1.5 hours from the capital New Delhi, about three-quarters of the village’s 5,400 people are sick and more than 30 have died in the past three weeks. It has no health-care facilities, no doctors and no oxygen canisters. And unlike India’s social-media literate urban population, residents can’t appeal on Twitter to an army of strangers willing to help.

“Most deaths in the village have been caused because there was no oxygen available,” said Sanjeev Kumar, the newly elected head of the farming community. “The sick are being rushed to the district headquarters and those extremely sick patients have to travel about four hours,” he said, adding that many don’t make it in time.

It’s a scenario playing out all over India. In interviews with representatives from more than 18 towns and villages in different parts of the country, officials outlined the scale of the carnage — from entire families wiped out to bloated bodies floating down the Ganges River to farmland left untended due to a lack of workers.

Many people said the scale of the crisis is much bigger than official numbers reveal, with villagers afraid to leave their homes even if they have fevers and local authorities failing to properly record virus fatalities. India reported a record 4,329 deaths on Tuesday while its total reported cases topped 25 million, according to figures from the Health Ministry.

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[frankthecat]

Ever get the feeling you’re being lied to?

[cjjeeper]

Funny, there was never a big outbreak among the US homeless population.

[brettadams]

Dragon did on purpose, don't take bioweapon shot

[travelclubwithnicolekelly]

So many prayers for our brothers and sisters in India ... please let us help them any way we can

[smokeandmirrors]

I know people in India who say this is simply not true.

[nancykurtz]

If only the people could be provided ivermectin while waiting for vaccines...

[jayejaye]

People are not falling for it anymore.

[jared]

"entire families" LMAO enough with the fear mongering

[jaddison]

This is a complete nightmare for those people of rural India. Going forward medical care must be a human right the world over. Vaccines must be manufactured more massively, and made available for everyone Prayers from Los Angeles, California, USA .

[xanderz]

Doesn't make any sense why it's happening now. Something doesn't add up.

[countchocula]

The media will die without COVID and Trump.. 😂

[jobertoli]

My heart goes out to the people of India may God be with you

[BIZKITJODE]

They're finally starting to use their brains to figure out that Ivermectin works....🤫

[Hey_its_Koda]

Prayers to India. May God be with those who suffering. Sending prayers from the US. 🇺🇲

[Spaghetti_policy]

So Sorry. Prayers to everyone in India.
Love and Respect from Austin, Texas.

[PLeejo]

There is a YT video of a doc, rural doc. Says folks wait too long to get treatment - already more than a week with symptoms. Then docs using ineffective Remdesivir. He claimed he had very few deaths when used supportive protocol - said "timing" very important for when to introduce certain drugs & there are many docs throwing expensive drugs instead of paying attention to what's going on when with their patients. He was pretty pissed. Sounded like a giant cluster f.

[zacharycrago]

I'm sure the terrible living conditions have nothing to do with any of this..

[gullahgeeche]

70% of The Population and No Hospital In The Area?

[freeroamer]

Like so many other aspects of the covid19 debacle, something in this story just doesn't make sense! 😐

[stillcovalent]

Infection numbers are declining. The worst is over in India.