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Updated May 1st, 2021 at 16:06 IST

Dr Anthony Fauci suggests a few weeks' immediate lockdown to contain India's COVID crisis

Top US epidemiologist Anthony Fauci suggested an immediate lockdown for few weeks in India which is grappling with the devastating second wave of COVID-19

Reported by: Pritesh Kamath
Anthony Fauci
AP/PTI | Image:self
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Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has suggested an immediate lockdown for a few weeks in India which is grappling to contain the devastating second wave of COVID-19. India on Saturday crossed the 4 lakh mark in reporting the single-day spike of COVID-19 infections, making yet another record high in the country and globally. Apart from the lockdown, Fauci said supply of oxygen, medication and PPEs are also essential in containing the pandemic.

In an interview with The Indian Express, he said India should form some sort of a crisis group or an emergency to get the battle more organised against the pandemic.

Fauci was pleased with the US sending help to India during the crisis. He highlighted that India had been generous in helping out other countries in the past to battle COVID-19 while opining that now is the time other countries should come up to assist India.

Fauci, who has worked with seven US Presidents, said India needs to build more emergency hospital-like arrangements as an immediate measure and also rope in the Indian Armed Forces if necessary.

In a long term plan, he remarked that India should look towards vaccinating a majority of the population as early as possible to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

India's COVID-19 crisis

Coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high with over 4 lakh new infections being reported in the last 24 hours, while the active cases crossed the 32-lakh mark, according to the latest update by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday. The infection tally rose to 1,91,64,969 with 4,01,993 new cases, while the death toll increased to 2,11,853 with 3,523 daily new fatalities. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,56,84,406, while the case fatality rate stands 1.11 per cent, the data stated. States reporting a high number of fresh COVID-19 cases include Maharashtra with 62,919 infections, followed by Karnataka with 48,296, and Kerala that reported 37,199 in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, support is pouring in from around 40 nations across the world including all major powers like the US, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, and the UK who have announced medical supplies and assistance to help India deal with the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.

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Published May 1st, 2021 at 16:06 IST

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