COVID Second Wave: Now, Lancet Blasts Modi Govt For Not Paying Heed To Warnings

Leading publications from all over the world have held the Narendra Modi government responsible for the deadly second wave of COVID-19 pandemic that is wreaking havoc in India.

Now, The Lancet has blasted the Central government for the current COVID situation in India.

“The impression from the government was that India had beaten COVID-19 after several months of low case counts, despite repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave and the emergence of new strains. Modelling suggested falsely that India had reached herd immunity, encouraging complacency and insufficient preparation, but a serosurvey by the Indian Council of Medical Research in January suggested that only 21% of the population had antibodies against SARS-CoV,” wrote one of the world’s oldest and best-known medical journal in a hard-hitting editorial.

Also Read: Modi Govt’s Pandemic ‘Failure’: India Looks To ‘Counter’ World Media Narrative

It pointed out that superspreader events like religious festivals (Kumbh Mela) and huge political rallies (assembly elections) were given the go-ahead.

“The scenes of suffering in India are hard to comprehend… hospitals are overwhelmed, and health workers are exhausted and becoming infected. Social media is full of desperate people (doctors and the public) seeking medical oxygen, hospital beds, and other necessities. Yet before the second wave of cases of COVID-19 began to mount in early March, Indian Minister of Health Harsh Vardhan declared that India was in the endgame of the epidemic,” the article stated.

It further mentioned that the central government’s attempt to stifle criticism about its handling of the crisis was “inexcusable”.

As per estimates of The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, there will be 1 million deaths in India by August 1. “If that outcome were to happen, Modi’s Government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe.”