Cemeteries filled to the brink in India as Covid-19 infections surge
Recording a surge in Covid-19 cases, India is now trailing only the United States on the list of the world’s most coronavirus-affected countries. With a total nearing 4.65 million cases, India’s overcrowded cities, and the poor state of the country’s healthcare system is making it almost impossible for doctors and gravediggers alike to keep up with the raging pandemic. FRANCE 24 reports from New Delhi.
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“There is no space left here to bury coronavirus victims,” a graveyard digger working at a Muslim cemetery in the Indian capital of New Delhi explains. He says authorities have had to expand the cemetery onto nearby plots of land in order to deal with the “massive increase” of Covid-19 fatalities in the city in the past few months.
On Saturday, India recorded a total of 97,570 new infections – beating the country’s daily record for a second consecutive day.
Although India's government is trying to limit the number of new infections by getting as many people tested as early as possible – mobile testing units have been set up in markets, train stations and busy streets – the country’s massive population and the lack of doctors is making it almost impossible to curb the spread of the virus without the help of a vaccine.
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