India is facing one of the worst outbreaks since the beginning of the pandemic. While outlets on the left are relying on anecdotal stories to highlight the human tragedy, most outlets on the right have not reported on it.
Summary
India’s record-breaking coronavirus outbreak continues to run rampant as nearly 400,000 new cases were reported in just the last 24 hours and hospitals and morgues are “overwhelmed.”
- A group of Indian scientists petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release more detailed data on testing for coronavirus and studying the viirus, saying restrictions “impede” the country’s ability to fight the outbreak.
- As a result of the outbreak, the United States is providing $100 million worth of aid and supplies to India, including millions of masks, rapid diagnostic tests, and refillable oxygen tanks which are in desperately short supply.
- Apparent cultural norms have frustrated efforts to slow the outbreak, with US News and World Report saying generational hierarchy is leading to older Indians refusing the advice of their offspring while popular social media channels are spreading misinformation as quickly as they’re spreading correct information.
- The Washington Post’s opinion section published a piece from academic Sumit Ganguly who criticized Modi’s handling of the outbreak, saying he is prioritizing his image over the health of the nation.
- CNN’s anecdotal dispatch details the horror Indian families face when a loved one has died of coronavirus, highlighting a morgue on New Delhi that has had to expand into its parking lot and construct makeshift cremation platforms and the province is running out of wood.
- In The Atlantic, Vidya Krishnan wrote that blame of the deficient health conditions and the current coronavirus outbreaklies squarely on the moral failure of India’s upper classes.
- Fox News’ report was relatively free of spin, highlighting the efforts the United States is making to assist India, directing readers to direct flights if Americans need to leave India, and proving a nugget not reported in other outlets: that the coronavirus death counts are likely “far higher.”
- Wall Street Journal’s opinion section ran a piece by Sadanand Dhume saying the variants of the virus in India wreaking havoc could be on their way to the United State and around the globe if they’re not careful.
- The Daily Caller’s most recent reporting was from April 26th, on the United States’ commitment to sending aid and assistance.
- Few other conservative outlets even covered the India outbreak.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
