Commentary: My harrowing brush with COVID-19 in New Delhi as India is ravaged

NEW DELHI: As a foreign correspondent, my job is to tell India’s stories, not be part of them.

Two days later, the results confirmed I was part of the ferocious coronavirus wave battering India and pushing its healthcare system to breaking point.But it was still harrowing to be sick from a notoriously unpredictable virus knowing that drugs, hospital beds and oxygen were scarce. I suffered constant anxiety knowing I’d struggle to get medical help if I took a turn for the worse.I quickly discovered that I’d been so focused on avoiding infection that I had no clue what to do once sick.

People queue outside a government dispensary to buy Remdesivir, an antiviral drug amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Chennai on Apr 30, 2021. I was elated to get the pills to start treatment that night. But it wasn’t enough for the prescribed course. A man with a breathing problem receives oxygen support for free at a Gurudwara in Ghaziabad, India, May 3, 2021.

I decided I had to tune out of the unfolding crisis, to ensure my physical recovery and to protect my mental health. I stopped checking Twitter. Newspapers piled up, unread.Once I felt better and tuned back, I saw Narendra Modi’s government had cynically expanded eligibility for vaccination to all over the age of 18, despite an acute shortage of jabs.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

India to pump billions into COVID-19 fight as health system continues to struggleNEW DELHI: India on Wednesday (May 5) pledged billions of dollars to boost its flagging vaccine programme as the country's new COVID-19 cases rose ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

India's COVID-19 cases dip from peak, calls for shutdown mountNEW DELHI: Calls grew for India to impose a nationwide lockdown as new COVID-19 cases and deaths held close to record highs on Monday (May 10), ... The point which needs to be really pondered is in entire Indian subcontinent Pakistan,Bangladesh,Nepal have no second wave but only India has.The population density,compliance to mask, social distancing is no better if not worse there.Medical or hospital infra is no better either 21 days .....
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

India's Covid-19 deaths cross quarter million as virus ravages countryside
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Commentary: India’s second COVID-19 wave threatens global supplies of vaccinesWith so many countries relying on India for vaccines, India’s devastating second wave is threatening vaccination progress globally, says a lecturer.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Commentary: Is Modi already being made to pay for India’s COVID-19 crisis?Defeat for the BJP in the West Bengal state elections is a sign voters’ perceptions of their Prime Minister is changing, says Coventry University ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »