NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India postponed exams for trainee doctors and nurses on Monday, freeing them up to fight the world's biggest surge in coronavirus infections, as the health system crumbles under the weight of new cases and hospitals run out of beds and oxygen. Hospitals have filled to capacity, supplies of medical oxygen have run short, and morgues and crematoriums have been overloaded with corpses. Narayan Rao, a district official in the southern town of Chamarajanagar, where 24 COVID-19 patients died, some from a suspected shortage of oxygen supplies. Leaders of 13 opposition parties urged Modi in a letter on Sunday to immediately launch free national vaccinations and to prioritise oxygen supplies to hospitals and health centres. Despite being the world's biggest producer of vaccines, India does not have enough for itself.

Source: The Star May 03, 2021 03:58 UTC