India sees yet another record daily Covid-19 death toll but confirmed infections fall (along with Modi’s approval rating)

INDIA-HEALTH-VIRUS
Relatives and health workers stand next to a pyre of a Covid-19 coronavirus victim at a crematorium in New Delhi on Wednesday
AFP via Getty Images

India has set another record for daily Covid-19 deaths with hospitals still swamped with patients despite a slight decline in infection rates.

The country’s health ministry reported on Wednesday that 4,529 deaths had taken place in the last 24 hours, pushing the overall total to 283,248.

It also announced 267,334 new infections, as daily cases dropped below 300,000 for the third consecutive day.

But the Associated Press believed that both figures are “almost certainly undercounts.”

India currently has the second-highest caseload after the US with more than 25 million confirmed infections.

But over the last month, its virus fatalities have jumped sixfold and its vaccination drive faltered after the number of daily doses fell by about half over the last six weeks.

They fell from a high of four million a day on April 2 to around two million or fewer this week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's approval ratings have fallen to a new low, two surveys showed on Wednesday, as the country struggles to contain the devastating second wave.

Mr Modi, who swept to power in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019 with the biggest majority of any Indian politician in three decades, has long fostered the image of a powerful nationalist leader.

People wearing masks sit outside a closed shop in Bengaluru
AP

But the Covid-19 cases sweeping the country has exposed a lack of preparation and eroded Mr Modi's support base, according to US data intelligence company Morning Consult's tracker of a dozen global leaders.

Mr Modi's overall ratings this week stand at 63 per cent, his lowest since the firm began tracking his popularity in August 2019. T

he big decline happened in April when his net approval dropped 22 points.

Another survey by Indian polling agency CVOTER found the number of respondents "very much satisfied" with Mr Modi's performance had dropped to 37 per cent from around 65 per cent a year ago.

For the first time in seven years, respondents expressing dissatisfaction with the Modi government's performance outnumbered those satisfied with it, CVOTER data shows.

"The prime minister is facing the biggest political challenge of his career," CVOTER founder Yashwant Deshmukh told Reuters.

The news on India’s current state came after official UK data released on Friday showed that four Brits had died in the country after contracting the mutant Indian strain.

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