Coronavirus cases surge across Africa and India, highlighting inequality
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy South Africa‘s confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled in two weeks to a quarter of a million, while India has seen its biggest daily spike as its total passed 800,000. In Johannesburg at South Africa’s outbreak epicentre, badly-needed oxygen concentrators, which help people with Covid-19 breathe, are hard to find as private businesses and individuals are buying them up, according to public health specialist Lynne Wilkinson, who volunteers at a field hospital. Meanwhile South Africa’s struggling public hospitals are short on medical oxygen — and they are now seeing a higher proportion of deaths than in private ones, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said. The continent of 1.3 billion has the world’s lowest levels of health staffing and more than 550,000 cases, and the pandemic is reaching “full speed”, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.