The U.K. Government is sending more than 600 medical devices – including ventilators and oxygen concentrators – to India as the country is suffering from a surge in Covid cases and a shortage of medical oxygen. BBC News has the story.
More than 600 pieces of medical equipment are being sent to India as the country faces a record surge of coronavirus cases, the U.K. Government has said.
The assistance package includes 495 oxygen concentrators – which extract oxygen from the air to give to patients – as well as ventilators.
India is seeing thousands of deaths a day amid oxygen shortages…
The first shipment of equipment will leave the U.K. on Sunday and is due to arrive in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In total, the U.K. will send nine airline containers of supplies this week, including 495 oxygen concentrators, 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators.
Local media reports say oxygen concentrators are in high demand in India, as they can meet some patients’ need for extra oxygen without adding to the strain on hospital oxygen supplies.
For the fourth day in a row, India has reported a record number of new infections, with almost 350,000 cases in the last 24-hour period and 2,767 deaths.
Many hospitals in Delhi are refusing to accept new patients because they cannot guarantee oxygen supplies. Oxygen tanks are being transported across the country, sometimes with a police escort, and flown in from nearby countries to meet demand.
The Prime Minister tweeted: “We stand side by side with India in the shared fight against Covid.”
The BBC News report is worth reading in full.
Stop Press: London mayoral candidate Laurence Fox has suggested that Britain’s surplus Covid vaccine supplies should be sent to India “now that 99% [of people in the U.K.] are protected”.
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Oh for just the tiniest smidgen of context. India is a country with a population of 1.366 billion people (2019 figure so will actually be higher now). It has generally poor health care provision (especially in rural areas) and also has areas of massive social depravation. The massive 350,000 “infections” being reported, no doubt to scare the living daylights out of the UK public, represents a truly frightening ……. wait for it…….0.0256% of the population. The number of deaths represents about 0.0002% of the population. Perhaps you might like to advise their daily infections and deaths for things like cholera, malaria or TB. I can understand this poor standard of reporting in the UK MSM but it is pretty disappointing to find it perpetuated here.
I was reading down the article waiting for the moment where it said essentially what you commented. It never came – pathetic article.
Yes the general reporting on India is really pissing me off. Maybe because it’s one of the increasingly few avenues for perpetuating the fear. Maybe because I’m pissed off that my holiday there in October looks vanishingly unlikely!
> my holiday there in October looks vanishingly unlikely!
I think diddums is the right reaction that.
Yep, tongue in cheek comment, obviously. Nevertheless, by the tone of your response presumably you are in favour of travel bans. I don’t know why you are here really.
Our pet troll.
Yes – she probably hasn’t got any friends so we’ll have to do. Never mind – she’s more to be pitied than censured.
There’s already a claim that the pictures shown are from a factory gas leak! Tssk!
Pesky conspiracy theorists!
In their defence, when Komrad Boris is prepared to announce to the nation that lockdowns are saving us in spite of evidence from the USA and elsewhere, it’s hard to believe that the Indian government might be averse to faking a few statistics/incidents to encourage vaccine uptake, thereby inflating the coffers of Astra et al, from whom they receive no pecuniary advantage whatsoever……
The was a video two days ago on my YouTube feed showing a malfunctioning exterior oxygen silo venting large quantities of oxygen into the open air.
It said this had caused the death of twenty patients at the Indian hospital concerned.
Could it possibly be something to do with India losing out from decreases to the UK’s generous foreign aid budget as well?
Not for a country that spends more than us on Space and Defence.
Don’t worry – we are sending them our ventilators – the ones which are not the appropriate treatment for covid because they put too much strain on covid lungs which actually need anticoagulant therapy.
Private Eye’s leftie Covid measure supporting MD even managed to say that the UK order 3.500 ventilators from China last spring. Normal cost £8k but for you my friends made that £30k each. None used
Didn’t someone on here post that about 20% of India’s population still defecate in fields? I remember showing my geography classes videos of the Bustees (Shanty towns) where they had twelve seater toilets. There was a particularly stomach churning scene in Slumdog millionaire too.
Any virus will spread rapidly in these conditions.
The counter view is that life lived under those rural conditions, and their urban slum equivalents, would lead to a considerably more robust immune system than ours.
Outside of the Covid period, about 1,700 people die in the UK daily. In India it’s about 22,000. India has a population 20 times the size of the UK. 20 times 1,700 is 34,000. So India is doing pretty well compared to the UK, particularly when you factor in the overcrowding, poverty etc. How would you account for that? …Nutritional deprivation in the UK?
I don’t know what you driving at there have been 200k lost lives in India due to covid19. Are you suggesting that it does not matter since there are plenty more where they came from? Let me remind you – there are plenty more MadJock1s wherever the hell it is you came from!
‘due to covid19’ – a most ironic comment – what you actually mean (or should mean), is ‘following a positive covid result’. Probably 10s of millions will have died or be very close to death from starvation due to covid-related policies. Oh, but perhaps you think 1 covid-related death trumps 100s of starvation-related deaths.
I do wonder whether you get paid to sit and write inane comments or if it’s just for the sheer heck of it.
Less than 100 lost in Gibraltar due to “covid” (or possibly vaccines?) so they’ve obviously done much better…
You don’t get kilda lot up there…
The latter gets my vote
You don’t need to be polite to Fon, Friedrich. He understands the point you are making perfectly well, but he is misrepresenting it in the hope someone reading this might be a bit dim.
can you not do the very simple maths? India is a country with a population of 1.366 billion people (2019 figure so will actually be higher now). and 192,000 deaths
Could you just focus your brain for two minutes once in a while. You’re incredibly stupid.
“Oh for just the tiniest smidgen of context.”
Essential. I’ve just had a genuine ask from within the family about what I reckon re. the situation in India.
I’ve had to reply that I have little basis, off the cuff, to have any opinion – apart from the fact that I haven’t got any reliable and relevant information and data to hand, and wouldn’t depend on any MSM reporting.
The press first tried this last year when hancock had to reduce the number of UK deaths from 50k to 40k following the ‘if you’ve ever had covid you died of covid’ furore.
Suddenly at just under 50k deaths (with/of?) India became the third most deadly place for covid in the world ! Likewise there was no context and it faded away after a couple of days.
A bit more context. This from The Times of India 2020, most common causes of death.
A Lakh is 100,000 apparently so at number 7 most common cause of death in India was TB at 450,000 last year or 1,200 per day as in the subtitle.
According to worldometer, the covid death rate (presumably with a positive test some time within the last month, symptomatic or not) in India is 119th in the world rankings, at 140 deaths per million, compared with 400 deaths per million for the whole world. There’s some context for you.
I know, it’s ridiculous. We might as well add up all the numbers for the total countries of Europe or North and South America together and be shocked and alarmed.
I made a similar point on the Daily Express comments today. Around 22500 people die every day in India yet we care not normally. There also seems to be the usual revisionism when about this time last year we we’re being told of the ‘miracle of India’ who were hardly effected by Kung flu with assorted speculation about younger population and pre-existing immunity. But now we have a DOUBLE MUTANT Indian strain.
Quick run to the hills.
I also assume the ventilators are all those emergency ones we bought and never needed and decided were the totally wrong treatment to use?
Meanwhile, how many millions of people have gone hungry in Kenya because of lockdown restrictions (compared to 2,000 odd “covid” deaths in a country with a similar population to England)? I did see an article about it some time ago, but I don’t think it got the front page news that this is getting. I wonder why…
Mexico, on the same latitude as India is also experiencing a high “case” load, but that doesn’t get reported. Another difference with India is its population density. TB kills 1.5 million people worldwide a year, I suspect mainly in India
Air quality never gets a mention in these reports. Delhi air quality is poor in most places at this time and the temperatures are sitting at 40 degrees.
https://www.aqi.in/
India is a country with a population of 1.366 billion people (2019 figure so will actually be higher now)
Nearly 200 times the population of Earth live in India. Who knew?
As discussed in this blog post, the real story is that they’re doing pretty well in terms of deaths by using well researched and cheap treatments (suppressed here in favour of lockdowns and vaccines).
https://therealslog.com/2021/04/23/the-bbc-bloomberg-on-india-b-stands-for-bullshit/
Plus, they seem to be the only source of over-the-counter Ivermectin for us westerners who have politicians more interested in kick-backs from Big Pharma.
The latest statistic I could find is that India has delivered 140 million vaccine doses. Are they likely to enquire into the correlation between the vaccinated and the “newly infected”?
Didn’t think so…….
Whilst I don’t begrudge the Indians receiving the supplies and equipment, surely this must imply that the UK Government is saying that the “Emergency” here is over?
I thought we were all meant to remain on tenterhooks waiting for “the inevitable surge in cases when the schools went back and the shops, restaurants, and pubs opened?
Can we have a quote from SAGE as to whether our generosity is potentially suicidal?
I don’t begrudge helping India either but they have had 12 months to organise their health infrastructure in the event of their covid figures (% of pop.) reaching anything like Western levels.
This whole press exercise is just to keep the India Mutant fresh while covid recedes throughout the UK. With a few freelance cameramen they could keep this going for months.
Could we maybe club together and employ an investigative journalist to find out what is really going on in India (and other places for that matter)?
Sorry SS, I think UK is just A) offloading rubbish to india under B) guise of making it look like “charity” and C) stoking up the fear agenda against this deadly virus
Psyop in progress. “Lifesaving ventilators” turning up under the banner of “medical supplies” before the deceit-ridden ramping up of the vaccine rollout. They are more likely psychologically priming the people of India to take more vaccines plus the situation provides material and footage to frighten other poulations with and continue the psyop where there is no seasonal respiratory disease. Ventilators being sold as medical equipment reminded me of this Bill Hicks routine about arms ending up in Iraq being described as other things
Bill Hicks – Weapons of Mass Destruction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DllifzzoJnM
Be a canny move on their part to increase the fear, aren’t a lot of the “vaccines” produced in India? Jolly good salesmanship. And what passes for a government in the UK will likely be more than willing to connive – aren’t they angling for a free trade deal with India?
So true. We all know since last April that ventilators kill covid patients!
Kill the old, anyway.
CPAP far better treatment where oxygen needed
Context:
‘Despite having the third-most confirmed COVID-19 cases globally, behind only the US and Brazil, the US has 3.5 times as many deaths as India, and Brazil is moving closer to double India’s deaths.’
‘”If [drop in overall mortality] is true, the 10% lower deaths at all ages is not due to lower accidents, as these are only 10% of all deaths. And if true, this would be important to understand what’s going on as Kerala with its older age distribution than India”
‘India has reported substantially lower infection fatality rates–deaths relative to total infections–than many other countries; the last official estimate put India’s IFR at under 0.1%’
https://www.indiaspend.com/covid-19/mortality-data-kerala-mumbai-too-soon-to-say-india-covid19-less-deadly-second-wave-737270
Meanwhile:
‘MUMBAI: Traffic congestion was reported in parts of Mumbai on Monday with Gudi Padva and Ramzan shoppers thronging markets, besides those in a rush to stock supplies at home before the beginning of the second lockdown.’
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-traffic-congestion-due-to-festival-shoppers-people-rushing-to-stock-up-before-lockdown/articleshow/82035622.cms
Another great call by a national government…….not…..
More than 600 pieces of medical equipment. That should do it!
The reason the government and the BBC are pushing the India story is because there is a supposed ‘Indian variant’ that the government wants to terrorise us with.
In terms of new deaths per population, India is #45 out of 221 countries listed here. Brazil is 7x worse at the moment.
In terms of new cases per population, India is #32 out of 221 countries. Uruguay is top with more than 3x the rate. Of course, ‘cases’ are measured by PCR and LFT test that are dreadfully inaccurate.
Because India has such a large population and few hospitals, actual cases becomes critical for them.
One might also ask why India are spending around £1bn per year on their space programme, which seems to be about twice as much as we spend on our space programme. Also, we spend £40bn on defence and they spend £48bn on defence.
There’s over a billion of them. They need the space more than we do.
oh well if the BBC is reporting it
Looks like the Indian – mutant variation mind – is about to strike here very soon then.
“Send for Neil.”
Please could we send Devi Sridhar
We could never be that lucky.
I’d have to listen again to be sure, but I think a listener-email to the most recent Planet Normal podcast reported an increase in rates of testing in India.
Same thing happened in the UK last spring which caused surprise and alarm in the usual places as they uncovered what had probably been present for some months.
RE. context – I am amazed that the story has been relayed here without any attempt at providing hard information to balance obvious spin.
That, common sense approach, relativism, and hard stats, has come from all you guys commenting here. Maybe TY is posting such an article to stimulate exactly that response. Well done guys and thank you from someone who doesn’t have access to such info.
It’s quite likely that there’s a serious COVID problem in India, but that doesn’t tell us anything at all about whether lockdowns etc., are necessary, justified or even remotely useful. The BBC’s reporting on this issue is tailored to insinuate the idea that the latter conclusion inevitably flows from the former premise.
Nothing on the BBC website relating to COVID is worth ‘reading in full’, except to find out what the spin of the day is. The same is true of climate change and no doubt other subjects. As a source of information it is irredeemably tainted – too often you have to check somewhere else or do your own calculations to get a grip on what’s really going on,
Yes, didn’t Tuvalu use the climate scare to hold out the begging bowl too? I could give a substantial ist for the BBC’s bias…
Tuvalu should have sunk beneath the waves a decade ago according to earlier models.
Better not since I told my email provider that I live there.
If 99% of us are protected (doubtful but there you go) why the fuck are there still restrictions?
Hey, my unvaxed friends! Suddenly we’re heroes!
Zombie:Adyerjab?
Us: No, I’ve nobly forgone it and sent it on a compassionate mission to India.
I read that as “unwaxed friends” and wondered if I’d carelessly entered the wrong web address.
Don’t be a lemon.
The graph you will never see on the BBC News.
Excellent find, saved. Thank you.
You’re welcome.
You can create them yourself here.
Endless hours of statistical fun.
The only problem is the old one – defining ‘Covid’ deaths. The Indian figures look possibly accurate.The UK – ????
You’ll find msm are saying it is the Indian numbers that are being underreported. It changes when it suits them
Oh no, the media are gleefully telling us the “real” numbers are “likely to be many times worse”. Accidentally caught the start of the bbc news at 10 just now, had to switch it off immediately.
Audi alterem partem. What harm can it do, as long as you go in with your eyes wide open?
Marvellous. Could we hold conversations here purely in Latin to wind up Fon?
So you missed Johnson playing with his balls? He can’t even play ping pong (I watch the lunchtime news just to see what they are making up now)
Additional
Likewise saved, thanks.
Coincidence, isn’t it, that there was this ‘surge’ soon after the vakses had been rolled out?
Just been looking at the Worldometer figures (are they reliable? – anyway they serve for comparison) and see 140 deaths per million. And were these WITH ”covid”? I see they’ve been testing like mad too.
I’d love to know how many deaths in the UK for, say, over 75’s, within 2 weeks of a covid jab. Is there some government website with this info on? Is there?
Don’t be in a hurry
To order a curry.
You won’t get naan bread,
You’ll get Covid instead.
Good old curry, I like madras, but get Buhna sometimes instead (mainly cos of the John Smith’s advert…). On a serious note, I’ve been saddened at the resurgence of racism etc. resulting from the lockdown narratives (remember the local restrictions in places like Oldham – possibly because of a belief in being buried within 24 hours of death so doctors, in the absence of being able to perform a proper post mortem, put covid, just in case. Allegedly)
Doctors were encouraged to do that for the general population from the outset with just one signature necessary on a death certificate saying Covid.
Oo Annie, that sounds a bit racist, do be careful.
Petition to end mask wearing. Share share share!
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/581316
Right, I’ll give my initial thoughts on India.
2,767 deaths in a day – equivalent to about 140 in the uk, or 1,000 in a week. For comparison, lockdown hellhole California had deaths for the week up to 18th April equivalent to over 1,200 in the UK. India total deaths are equivalent to about nine and a half thousand in the UK. Also, without wishing to offend anyone, didn’t rather a lot of people in India bathe in a polluted river recently? If tghe UK can have an NHS crisis every year, I dare say India, with rather lower per capita wealth despite the advances they have made, are more than capable of having crises in their health provision.
Considering also the virtual ignoring by much of the media of what was possibly a very large London protest on Saturday, it is hard to avoid a suspicion that localised health situations in India are being used to support a narrative.
More context.
Population of India – 1.38bn. For ease of back-of-envelope maths, lets round up to 1.4bn.
Population of UK, mid 2019 – 66.796m million. For ease of arithmetic, let’s round up to 70 million.
Therefore, the population of India is approx 20x the size of the UK’s.
India Covid-19 “case” reports today (25 April 2021):- 349,000
UK max “case” reports, mid Jan 2021:- approx 60,000/day
India deaths reported today:- 2,600
UK max daily death rate, mid Jan 2021:- approx 1250 (7-day-average)
Chart: same page as above.
If India’s current “case” and death rates were at the equivalent level of the UK’s during its max period, they would be at 20x those of the UK in mid Jan, i.e.:-
“Cases”:- 1,200,000/day (compared to current 349,000)
Deaths:- 52,000/day (compared to current 2,600)
So, clearly things are bad in India at the moment (exacerbated by their facilities etc), but by comparison with the UK’s figures in mid-Jan, pro-rata against total population, they are a LONG way off yet. They may get there, but they will have to be a LOT worse to be equivalent to the UK’s mid-Jan position.
Worldometer gives a constant (presumably estimated) population update. UK according to them just over 68m, India a little over 1,390m. Either way, a little over 20 times UK population. Btw, why does the BBC always say something like “the USA has the most covid deaths in the world”, without putting it in per capita terms (and mostly without mentioning Belgium or the Czech Republic or Gibraltar…)
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/half-of-delhi-population-exposed-to-covid-virus-all-we-know-about-sero-survey-101611636740197.html
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-sero-survey-finds-antibodies-in-57-of-those-tested-in-slums/articleshow/77245665.cms
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/01/962821038/the-mystery-of-indias-plummeting-covid-19-cases
As someone who knows Lombardy, Northern Italy well, I think we are seeing the Bergamo of Asia here – COVID-19 is massively aggravated by air pollution and India has got the most atrocious air pollution (not just in New Delhi). This IS the issue! If you compare COVID-19 deaths in the Milan area with Naples and Rome, the difference is staggering.
Another article from The Times of India with a sense of perspective, as compared to the BBC who has headlined India for about 10 days now (as there’s no UK Covid fear porn news available).
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/seeing-the-invisible/yes-850-died-of-covid-recently-in-a-day-but-27000-die-every-day-in-india/
India is going through a spike in infections but its sheer size and poor health care is exacerbating the situation. Britain and the rest of the world are right to send aid because any form of health crisis in India effects a far greater number of people. What I find difficult to stomach is zero covid zealots using other peoples’ misery to try and prove their half baked theories about the supposed effectiveness of lockdown.
Fox shouldn’t be quite so sure that vaccination, other than of the elderly and vulnerable, is the answer.
The Indian caste system means all those keeling over from the coof are the undesirables
The aid they get will finish up in the private hospitals as the public ones are too crowded and chaotic to use ventillators, we are talking about a country that has average road accident deaths of over 450 per day TB deaths of 1200 per day. Still when cases and deaths fall off over the next few weeks it will be medical aid responsible and not just the natural course of the virus.