ABP. ANIL JOSEPH THOMAS COUTO
Archbishop of Delhi
Big gatherings were there, also religious gatherings, so somewhere or the other we actually triggered the infections I would say. We did not take enough precautions. We took it easy therefore we are paying the price for it now.
Archbishop Anil Couto oversees the Archdiocese of Delhi, one of the cities hardest hit by Covid-19 in India. Nearly 1.2 million confirmed cases have been reported in the city—or one for every 14 people.
Around the country hospitals at full capacity are turning away patients. In an act of desperation this one man even tried to force his way into a hospital on a mototaxi.
In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Couto shared how the Catholic-run Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi is also feeling the strain of the pandemic.
ABP. ANIL JOSEPH THOMAS COUTO
Archbishop of Delhi
“Every inch of space we could find in the hospital has been turned into Covid beds now.
FLASH
People have stayed outside for I don’t know how many hours to get inside the emergency [room] of the hospital.”
Covid-19 affects people of all socioeconomic classes, but Archbishop Couto notes that India's poor are suffering the most from the effects of the pandemic.
ABP. ANIL JOSEPH THOMAS COUTO
Archbishop of Delhi
“The ones who don’t have that much money as the rich ones have of course have to bear the brunt of it. Doors will be closed on them, hospitals will not take them.”
India is currently reporting over 300,000 new cases a day. Although it is one of the world's leading vaccine manufacturers, less than 10% of India's population have received their first dose.
Justin McLellan