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India said on Sunday (April 12, 2020) that its hospital network was adequately prepared to address the spread of coronavirus, including 100,000 beds ready, to increase the potential number of patients.
In neighboring Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced a $ 1.7 billion relief package to help farmers fight against the restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease.
The number of people infected in India rose to 8,447 on Sunday, a rapid rise from fewer than 1,000 two weeks ago. Some 273 people have died.
Senior Indian Health Ministry official Lav Agarwal told a daily media briefing that the country is being “over-prepared, extra cautious”, and had almost 106,000 hospital beds in 601 hospitals to cater to any surge in patient numbers.
“The country is ready to fight this epidemic,” he said.
Indian officials have said widespread virus infections could be disastrous in a country where millions live in slums, and the health system is already overburdened.
There has been mounting concern that the financial hub Mumbai, which accounts for around 1,250 cases, is becoming a hotspot for the disease. Local authorities are battling the infection’s spread through the city’s densely populated slum areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to extend a 21-day nationwide lockdown due to end Tuesday, according to a state chief minister with knowledge of discussions among top officials. The federal government has yet to make an announcement on this.
States such as Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, and at least three others have already said independently they will extend lockdowns to the end of April.
BANGLADESH
Including India, the number of coronavirus cases in the South Asia region neared 15,000 on Sunday.
The agricultural relief package announced by Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday includes $590 million for cheap farm loans and $1.1 billion for fertilizer subsidies.
“Disasters come. We’ll have to face it boldly ... We want to make sure that our farming sector continues its smooth production,” Hasina said.
Bangladesh has extended its lockdown by 11 days to April 25, a move that could exacerbate the difficulties faced by the country’s hundreds of thousands of rice, fish, dairy, poultry and vegetable farmers. Find more...
Source: Online/SZK
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