India emergency extends pandemic to 2023 and beyond

India has shown the world there is no Hollywood ending for this pandemic. As long as the virus has room to mutate, we’ll be living with COVID-19.

As India’s COVID-19 catastrophe continues to worsen, there were more than 2.4 million new cases and over 17,000 deaths In just seven days. AP

Emma Connors and Hans van Leeuwen

Apr 30, 2021 – 12.38pm

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″The situation is grim and heartbreaking,” Lei Lei Song, Asian Development Bank principal economist, told international media from New Delhi on Wednesday as India’s pandemic tragedy unfolded around him.

The numbers are so big they are hard to get your head around. More than 370,000 new COVID-19 cases confirmed on Thursday. Another 3654 deaths. The seven-day total was more than 2.4 million new cases and more than 17,000 deaths. Those who know the country well say these official figures understate the extent of the disaster by an order of magnitude.

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Emma ConnorsSenior editor and writerEmma Connors was South-east Asia correspondent from October 2019 until mid-2023, based in Jakarta and Singapore. She has previously edited Perspective and Opinion and has written extensively across the AFR and related titles.

Hans van LeeuwenEurope correspondentHans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London.