Indian scientists asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly release virus data that would allow them to save lives as COVID-19 cases climbed higher again Friday, leading the army to open its hospitals in a desperate bid to control a massive humanitarian crisis.
With over 380,000 new cases, India now reports a total case count of more than 18.7 million. The Health Ministry has reported thousands of deaths daily, bringing the total to almost 220,000. Experts believe both those numbers are an undercount, but it’s unclear by how much.
Over 350 scientists have signed an online appeal claiming that India’s pandemic response has been marred by insufficient data, asking asking government to release data about the sequencing of virus variants, testing, recovered patients and how people were responding to vaccines.
India’s army chief M.M. Naravane met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to discuss the crisis. Army hospitals have been opened to the public and resources are being made available, according to Naravane.
Experts blame new variants and less precautions like mass-gatherings, such political rallies and religious events for record-breaking cases.