NEW DELHI: India’s official coronavirus death toll leapt by more than 2,000 on Wednesday as the hard-hit country struggles to contain a ballooning health crisis that has overwhelmed hospitals.
The news came as Germany urged its nationals in India to consider leaving for their own safety, while France warned its citizens in New Delhi to stay home unless going to an airport to return to Europe.
Authorities said the sharp increase in fatalities to 11,903 was mainly due to Mumbai and Delhi updating their figures.
Death tolls in both cities have been increasing in recent days.
Mumbai blamed unspecified accounting “discrepancies” for the increase of 862 to 3,165 deaths.
Delhi added more than 430 fatalities, taking its total to over 1,800.
Officials said 93 of the Delhi deaths and 55 in Mumbai had been in the previous 24 hours.
The epidemic has badly hit India’s densely populated major cities and Chennai in the south has ordered a new lockdown from Friday because of a surge in cases.
Hospitals in Mumbai have been overwhelmed, while the government has sent specially-adapted railway carriages to Delhi and authorities have taken over hotels and banquet halls to accommodate coronavirus patients.
Late Wednesday, the office of the Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said he had tested positive for coronavirus after complaining of a high fever. He had attended a meeting with the national home and health ministers on Sunday.
Germany recommended its citizens in India to “seriously consider whether a temporary return to Germany or another country with an assured health care system makes sense.”
“Case numbers are still rising strongly. This increases considerably the risk of infection,” the foreign ministry said.
People with the coronavirus or other serious medical needs have “no or very little chance of being admitted to hospitals. This increases considerably the health risks of a stay in India,” it added.
The French embassy in Delhi also sent a warning to its nationals saying that hospitals in the city are “more and more saturated.”
It said people should stay home unless there is an emergency “or it is to reach an airport for a flight to Europe.”
Air France and German carrier Lufthansa have organized a number of special flights from Delhi to Europe this month for people trying to leave the country.
India is the fourth worst hit country in the world with more than 354,000 infections, official figures show.
Experts say the real number of cases is likely much higher and have called for greater testing.
The Delhi government alone has warned that it could have 550,000 cases by the end of July.
But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has declared a nationwide lockdown imposed in late March a success and has been steadily lifting restrictions.
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India coronavirus toll sees record jump of 2,000 dead
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India coronavirus toll sees record jump of 2,000 dead
- Authorities said the sharp increase in fatalities to 11,903 was mainly due to Mumbai and Delhi updating their figures
- The epidemic has badly hit India’s densely populated major cities
US NATO envoy says allies must ‘pull weight’ after Czech defense cut
PRAGUE, March 12 : The United States’ ambassador to NATO said on Thursday that all allies must “pull their weight,” after Czech lawmakers approved a 2026 budget that cuts defense outlays.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ government, in power since December, pushed a revamped budget through the lower house on Wednesday evening which cut the defense ministry’s allocation versus a previous proposal to 154.8 billion crowns ($7.31 billion), or 1.73 percent of gross domestic product.
That is below a NATO target of 2 percent of GDP already expected before alliance members pledged last year in the Hague to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP plus 1.5 percent on other defense-relevant investments over the next decade.
The Czech Finance Ministry says total defense spending in the budget will reach 2.07 percent of GDP, but the country’s budget watchdog has warned that includes money earmarked elsewhere, like for the transport ministry for road projects, that may not be recognized by NATO.
“All Allies must pull their weight and honor The Hague Defense Commitment,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on X on Thursday with a picture of a news headline on the Czech budget approval.
“These numbers are not arbitrary. They are about meeting the moment — and the moment requires 5 percent as the standard. No excuses, no opt-outs.”
European NATO countries are under pressure to raise defense spending amid the Ukraine-Russia war and at US President Donald Trump’s urging.
Babis, whose populist ANO party won elections last year, said in February the country was “certainly not” on the path to raising core defense spending to the 3.5 percent target, saying there was a different focus, like on health care.
The budget watchdog on Thursday reiterated “strong doubts” that some spending deemed defense in this year’s budget would meet NATO’s definition.
President Petr Pavel, a former NATO official, has also said defense cuts risked a loss of trust from allies — but has signalled he would not veto the budget.
US Ambassador to Prague Nicholas Merrick said last week the Czech Republic may slip to the bottom of NATO’s defense-spending ranks.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ government, in power since December, pushed a revamped budget through the lower house on Wednesday evening which cut the defense ministry’s allocation versus a previous proposal to 154.8 billion crowns ($7.31 billion), or 1.73 percent of gross domestic product.
That is below a NATO target of 2 percent of GDP already expected before alliance members pledged last year in the Hague to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP plus 1.5 percent on other defense-relevant investments over the next decade.
The Czech Finance Ministry says total defense spending in the budget will reach 2.07 percent of GDP, but the country’s budget watchdog has warned that includes money earmarked elsewhere, like for the transport ministry for road projects, that may not be recognized by NATO.
“All Allies must pull their weight and honor The Hague Defense Commitment,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on X on Thursday with a picture of a news headline on the Czech budget approval.
“These numbers are not arbitrary. They are about meeting the moment — and the moment requires 5 percent as the standard. No excuses, no opt-outs.”
European NATO countries are under pressure to raise defense spending amid the Ukraine-Russia war and at US President Donald Trump’s urging.
Babis, whose populist ANO party won elections last year, said in February the country was “certainly not” on the path to raising core defense spending to the 3.5 percent target, saying there was a different focus, like on health care.
The budget watchdog on Thursday reiterated “strong doubts” that some spending deemed defense in this year’s budget would meet NATO’s definition.
President Petr Pavel, a former NATO official, has also said defense cuts risked a loss of trust from allies — but has signalled he would not veto the budget.
US Ambassador to Prague Nicholas Merrick said last week the Czech Republic may slip to the bottom of NATO’s defense-spending ranks.
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