India stares at new waves of virus even as this resurgent COVID-19 wave grows unabated

K. Vijay Raghavan, the Indian government's principal scientific advisor, said the country of 1.3 billion had to be ready for more trouble even after beating down this wave which has taken India's caseload above 20 million infections. "Phase 3 is inevitable given the high levels of circulating viruses. But it is not clear on what timescale this phase 3 will occur. We should prepare for new waves," Raghavan told a news conference.

With the government facing criticism as patients die in streets outside hospitals because of the bed shortages, consignments of oxygen and equipment have been arriving from the United States, France, Britain, Russia and other countries in recent days. And India will need more oxygen from other countries to fight the surge until numbers stabilise, another government official said. "We did not and do not have enough oxygen," the top government official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "If we could get more oxygen more lives would be saved."

Stung by growing anger, the central bank said that $6.7 billion in cheap loans would be provided to oxygen, vaccine and drug manufacturers as well as hospitals to help ease the crisis. India's courts have meanwhile become increasingly vocal critics of the Modi government's handling of the crisis. Delhi's government says it needs 700 tonnes of oxygen a day for its overwhelmed hospitals but the Supreme Court was told Wednesday that it is only getting 585 tonnes.

A Delhi High Court which made the contempt threat accused government politicians and officials of "living in ivory towers" while the death toll mounted. The High Court in Allahabad said the deaths of people in Uttar Pradesh state hospitals "is a criminal act and not less than a genocide" by those meant to be ensuring oxygen supplies. The government in India's most populous state has denied there are oxygen shortages. It has been accused by civic groups of grossly under-reporting the number of pandemic deaths.