India sets a 5th straight COVID-19 infection record, as U.S. and other countries pledge help

India cremates COVID-19 victims
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/BBC News)

India on Monday reported 352,991 new COVID-19 infections, its fifth consecutive day of setting a new global record for infections over a 24-hour period. India has now recorded more than 17 million cases and, with Sunday's 2,812 new COVID-19 deaths, 195,123 official fatalities from the pandemic. Based partly on the nonstop fires at overwhelmed crematoriums, India's actual death toll is believed to be several times higher than the official count. Hospitals are full and supplies, notably oxygen, are dangerously low.

On Sunday, the U.S. became the latest country to offer help to India as it struggles to tame its devastating second wave of infections. The National Security Council said the U.S. will provide key materials for India to produce vaccines, plus drugs, test kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment; Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Pentagon will help deliver supplies, including "oxygen-related equipment," to India in coming days. "Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need," President Biden tweeted Sunday.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.