New Delhi ambulance group grapples with surging COVID-19 quarantine deaths

Record ID: 1588693

  • Title: New Delhi ambulance group grapples with surging COVID-19 quarantine deaths
  • Date: 27th November 2020
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (NOVEMBER 26, 2020) (REUTERS) SOCIAL WORKER, JITENDER SINGH SHUNTY, WEARING PROTECTIVE SUIT, WALKING TOWARDS AMBULANCE OUTSIDE HOUSE OF COVID-19 VICTIM AMBULANCE FROM SHUNTY'S NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, 'SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH SEWA DAL', OUTSIDE VICTIM'S HOUSE SHUNTY COMPLETING DOCUMENTS FAMILY MEMBER OF VICTIM LOOKING ON SHUNTY SPRAYING DISINFECTANT ON BODY VARIOUS OF SHUNTY AND OTHER SOCIAL WORKERS PLACING BODY IN BODY BAG AND LIFTING IT SHUNTY AND OTHERS CARRYING BODY BAG DOWN STAIRS (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) SOCIAL WORKER, JITENDER SINGH SHUNTY, SAYING: "Today, Delhi's condition is very bad. The coronavirus situation has gotten out of hand in Delhi. Too many people are dying, especially those who are elderly, who have health complications like diabetes, lung ailments, kidney ailments, heart-related ailments. These are the people that usually go to the hospital." SHUNTY AND OTHERS PUTTING BODY BAG NEAR AMBULANCE FAMILY MEMBER CRYING SHUNTY AND OTHERS PUTTING BODY BAG IN AMBULANCE SHUNTY AND OTHERS OUTSIDE HOUSE OF DECEASED PERSON AMBULANCES LEAVING VARIOUS OF HEALTH WORKERS IN PROTECTIVE GEAR TAKING BODY FROM AMBULANCE TO CREMATION GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHUNTY'S SON AND SOCIAL WORKER, JYOT JEET SINGH, SAYING: "Patients are longing for hospitalisation into hospitals or ambulances and dead bodies are longing for, you know, cremation spots and the cremation grounds. It is a total chaos in Delhi and the systems have collapsed, and things have actually gone out of control of the health authorities in Delhi." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN PROTECTIVE GEAR PREPARING FOR CREMATION FUNERAL PYRE SHUNTY AND OTHERS WALKING
  • Embargoed: 11th December 2020 10:53
  • Keywords: India New Delhi cermation coronavirus deaths health pandemic social workers
  • Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001D6CCTHJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Wearing a yellow turban and white overalls, Jitender Singh Shunty and three of his coworkers carefully pulled the body of a 57-year-old COVID-19 victim out of his bedroom in a house in New Delhi's west and onto an ambulance waiting downstairs.
    A second ambulance from Shunty's non-profit medical service carrying three other COVID-19 patients joined them on the Indian capital's clogged roads for a trip to a crematorium in the city's east.
    Before the novel coronavirus engulfed India, the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal helped cremate the unclaimed bodies of homeless people and others. This month, Shunty's team has been flooded with calls from families of those dying at home after quarantining for COVID-19.
    The disease has killed more than 2,000 people this month in the city slammed by its third, and most severe, surge of infections.
    Shunty's group has ferried up to 25 such bodies a day this month, compared to about three earlier. While infections and fatalities have slowed in India since a mid-September peak, Delhi is going in the opposite direction.
    "The coronavirus situation has gotten out of hand in Delhi," said Shunty, who founded the non-governmental organisation more than 25 years ago. It runs 16 ambulances, almost all of them working overtime these days.
    "Too many people are dying, especially those who are elderly, who have health complications."
    India has reported 9.3 million infections so far, the world's second-highest after the United States, with more than 135,000 fatalities.
    From the pandemic's start, Delhi has encouraged home isolation for non-severe patients to reduce the burden on local hospitals that also serve two surrounding states.
    The Delhi government does not regularly release data on home isolation deaths and did not respond to a request for comment.
    Currently more than 23,000 people are recovering at home in Delhi, which has been recording a total of around 100 deaths a day this month and more than 5,000 infections.
    (Production: Danish Siddiqui, Dinesh Thakur, Sunil Kataria)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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