A health worker collects a nasal swab sample from a man to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus after police in rural areas launched a free cab service for villagers to the testing and vaccination centres on the outskirts of Amritsar on May 3, 2021.
“Oxygen is a basic requirement of a hospital and a consistent supply has not been assured. We are constantly firefighting,” the head of the Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital Dr Dinesh told the Indian Express daily. Amid severe shortages, India’s federal and state authorities have been scrambling to get extra oxygen to hospitals, including by sourcing it from the steel industry and sending special “Oxygen Express” trains. International aid has also poured into the country.“Out there the hospitals are full. People are sometimes dying in front of the hospitals. They have no more oxygen,” German ambassador Walter J. Lindner said.
Von der Leyen’s Commission on Monday proposed that travellers who are fully vaccinated with EU-approved jabs be able once again to enter the bloc, if they come from countries keeping Covid-19 at bay. Greece is also due to reopen outdoor dining after six months of closures as it eyes the beginning of the tourism season.