State efforts have left Indians on their own in fight against Covid

Despite enforcing one of the strictest lockdowns last year, the authorities seem unable to cope with a renewed Covid surge

A health worker collects a swab sample to test for Covid-19 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, April 17, 2021. Picture: AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade

At 7.52pm on April 16, Vinay Srivastava, a 65-year-old freelance journalist in Lucknow, the capital city of India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, tweeted state chief minister Yogi Adityanath that his oxygen levels had fallen to 52, but no hospital, doctor, or lab was picking up the phone. 

His symptoms pointed to Covid-19, but he was unable to get a test. His son went from hospital to hospital through the night, pleading in vain for a bed for his father.