Morning digest: U.S. aircraft carring medical supplies on way to India; polling begins for 8th and final phase of Bengal elections, and more

A select list of stories to read before you start your day.

U.S. COVID-19 assistance en route to New Delhi

Supplies and assistance to help India battle a second COVID-19 wave began making their way from the United States on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announcing that the “world’s largest military aircraft” had left Travis Air Force Base in California for New Delhi.

Polling begins for eighth and final phase in Bengal

Polling began at 7 am on Thursday, April 29, 2021, for 35 seats in the eighth phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal amid the rampaging second wave of COVID-19.

Coronavirus | Vaccine registrations begin for those above 18, amid glitches

Vaccine registrations for those aged 18-44 began on Wednesday with several — after some glitches — able to enrol, but unable to get appointments at hospitals for vaccination.

Coronavirus | Capital casesheet: unending replay of pathos, pain

In the national capital, a horror story that starts with “I have fever” is being played out in almost every family as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. At every step of the way, from getting tested to finding oxygen support and a hospital bed, the healthcare system has been overwhelmed.

Coronavirus | In Chennai, tense time before a gulp of oxygen

Sandhya Kumar got a call from a friend in Dubai two days ago to help his sister get a hospital bed as she was becoming breathless. Ms. Sandhya and her husband were then returning from Chengalpattu.

Coronavirus | In Pune, alone and cash strapped

With Pune facing an acute shortage of ventilator and oxygen beds, accessing critical health care is not easy. Balaji Phad, a 28-year-old preparing for his Maharashtra Public Service Commission exam, had a nightmarish experience trying to find an oxygen bed in Pune city.

Coronavirus | In Bengaluru, confusion over beds, crackdown on labs

Prabhu Prasad (name changed), 41, tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Since then, he and his wife, who also tested positive, had been isolating themselves at home.

Coronavirus bulletin issued by Delhi govt. rife with major discrepancies

The Delhi government on Thursday issued a COVID-19 bulletin rife with major discrepancies in cumulative figures recorded over the last year since the pandemic set in. Cumulative figures related to cases, recoveries and deaths were relatively lower compared to the bulletin issued a day earlier.

Coronavirus | Driven from pillar to post, a valuable life lost in Telangana

Sheikh Reshma, a 24-year-old PG student, began coughing in the morning at her home in Namdevwada in Nizamabad on Tuesday. Her father Razzaq and her mother Fatima didn’t think about it much. But by afternoon the cough became intense and her father reached out to a neighbour and she was taken to the Nizamabad Government Hospital at 4 p.m.

Serum Institute of India cuts Covishield vaccine price for States to ₹300 per dose

With a number of States expressing their inability to commence the third phase of vaccination from May 1 owing to vaccine paucity, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday announced that it was reducing the price of its ‘Covishield’ vaccine to the States from ₹400 to ₹300 per dose as a “philanthropic gesture”.

Couple’s gift is a ‘fan moment’ for Coimbatore

When some give, they prefer to do it anonymously. A couple called on authorities of the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore, on Tuesday and offered to donate fans for the COVID-19 wards. But they would do so without any publicity.

IPL 2021, SRH vs CSK | Super Kings clinically disassemble Sunrisers, win five in a row

Chennai Super Kings openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis powered their team to the top of the table with a calculated onslaught. The clinical CSK chased down Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 171 by seven wickets in the IPL clash at New Delhi’s Feroze Shah Kotla ground on Wednesday.

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