India population counts more than 1.3 billion people. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are increasing very rapidly with currently more than 314,000 new infections in a single day. The positive rate of tests also increased strongly (from 2% to almost 10%). So far, over 15.3 million people got infected with SARS-CoV-2 in India.
It's the worst coronavirus outbreak for any country. India's hospitals are close to collapse. They're running out of medication and oxygen. Two thousand people died on Wednesday alone. India had come off relatively lightly during the pandemic. But the number of infections has rocketed in recent weeks. Why is the big question. Some doctors blame more infectious variants. Others point to loose restrictions and people letting down their guard, after hearing about the vaccine or following India's fairly unscathed brush with the first wave.