Oxygen Crisis and Heartbreak in India

At the beginning of this year, many people in India thought the worst of the pandemic was finished there. But in the last few weeks, any sense of ease has given way to widespread fear. 

The country is suffering from the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, with people being turned away from full hospitals and a scarcity of medical oxygen.  

How did India, after successfully containing the virus last year, get to this point?

Guest: Jeffrey Gettleman, the South Asia bureau chief for The New York Times, based in New Delhi. 

Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. 

Background reading: 

• In a dispatch from New Delhi, Jeffrey describes the fear of living amid a disease spreading at such scale and speed.
• Fatalities have been overlooked or downplayed, understating the human toll of the country’s outbreak, which accounts for nearly half of all new cases in a global surge.
• The new wave of the virus in India will hurt global efforts and vaccine supplies, experts say. And researchers are scrambling to assess whether new coronavirus variants are playing a role. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.