President Solih expresses concern over India's catastrophic Covid-19 crisis

President Ibrahm Mohamed Solih has expressed concern as neighboring India battles a catastrophic second wave of Covid-19 infections, asserting that the Maldives will always remain in solidarity with India even during times of crisis.

While India faces a catastrophic second wave of the global pandemic, a record number of new Covid-19 infections are being reported across the country. As hospitals and health workers continue to treat the growing number of patients with scarce resources, authorities have come to fear that the actual positivity rate and death toll of the infection is much higher than official reports.

In a tweet posted on Wednesday, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih expressed concern and sadness that India was battling a new wave of Covid-19 infections. President Solih asserted that Maldives remains in solidarity with India as authorities work to manage the pandemic in the country. The President went on to state that the Maldives is encouraged by efforts being undertaken, by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian authorities in order to control the spread of the virus.

India's healthcare system has not been able to cater to the growing number of Covid-19 cases, with mass cremations and oxygen scarcity worsening across the country as demand for critical health care services increase. Reports suggest that citizens have been forced to wait in queues to perform funeral rites for their deceased loved ones, with empty lots and parks also having repurposed to conduct funerals in some parts of India.

Over 300,000 new Covid-19 infections are reported from India every day, with statistics projecting that over 18 million Indian's have thus far contracted the infection. India's official Covid-19 death toll has surpassed 201,000 by official records, and is feared to be much higher by authorities monitoring the crisis in India.