NEW DELHI — COVID-19 infections in India have hit another grim daily record as demand for medical oxygen jumped sevenfold and the government denied reports that it was slow in distributing life-saving supplies from abroad.
The number of new confirmed cases breached 400,000 for the second time.
According to Johns Hopkins, India saw more than 412,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, a record in the country and a worldwide record for most cases recorded by a single country in a single day.
The country also recorded more than 400,000 cases on April 30.
The records are part of a disturbing increase of cases that have ticked up since mid-March. For the last 15 days, India has seen at least 300,000 new cases each day.
Deaths have also spiked during that time span. Inda saw a record 3,980 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, and has seen at least 3,000 people die of the virus each day since April 27.
The disturbing spike in cases has led to a shortage of medical supply in the country.
A news report says 11 COVID-19 patients died when pressure in an oxygen line dropped suddenly in a government medical college hospital in southern India, possibly because of a faulty valve.
Demand for hospital oxygen has surged since last month as India scrambles to set up large oxygen plants and transport oxygen.
A sea bridge has been set up to ferry oxygen tankers from Bahrain and Kuwait.
