How India’s virus outbreak compares to the rest of the world
The world is watching in horror as India is stricken by a coronavirus crisis, but the nation does not actually have the most daily new cases in comparison to its massive population, according to official figures.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus currently has the largest number of cases per population, with 929 people per one million testing positive daily in the last week.
By comparison, India is the world’s second largest nation with almost 1.4 billion people and, according to Our World in Data, in the last week there have been about 209 new daily cases per one million people.
The South American nation of Uruguay (854 new daily cases per million) and the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain (620) are also at the top of the table in terms of case rates.
Sweden, which refused to have a lockdown earlier in the pandemic, is now seeing a spike and currently ranks high with 515 new daily cases per one million people in the last week.
However, experts warn India’s crisis could worsen with fears of half a million cases per day in coming weeks.
People sit and drink outside a coffee shop in Nicosia, Cyprus, as it reopened after a three month lockdown.
But the nation now has the highest number of cases in comparison to its population
There are also fears that the true numbers are far higher, with many people with the virus likely not being tested and deaths not being properly recorded.
The nation also has notoriously poor health care, and hospitals are running out of oxygen and turning desperate patients away.
A total of 143 million vaccine doses have been given out, but less than two percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.
Passengers await their turn to be tested for COVID-19 at a bus terminal in New Delhi, India, (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Passengers await their turn to be tested for COVID-19 at a bus terminal in New Delhi, India, (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)In the capital Delhi, one-in-three people going for a test were being told they had the virus.
India has become the fourth nation to pass the grim figure of 200,000 coronavirus deaths, after the US, Brazil and Mexico.
Looking at the last seven days, the nation which has seen the most deaths in comparison with its population, is Hungary.
It has seen 20 deaths per one million people, while India is averaging 1.59 deaths per one million people.
India is also the second nation after the US to hit more than 300,000 daily cases.
However, the US has a significantly lower population of 328 million.
Overall, the nation with the most total deaths in numbers alone remains the US, with more than 572,000.
Relatives of a Covid-19 victim performing the last rites, at Sarai Kale Khan crematorium in New Delhi, India. (Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Relatives of a Covid-19 victim performing the last rites, at Sarai Kale Khan crematorium in New Delhi, India. (Hindustan Times via Getty Images)Australia has suspended flights from India, the first time it has barred any nation since the start of the pandemic.
The ban will last for at least two weeks, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying the number of Aussies returning from India with the virus is putting pressure on the mandatory hotel quarantine.
Mr Morrison has said both commercial and repatriation flights will resume, with more than 9000 Aussies trying to get home from India, many for over a year.
