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What you need to know:India’s Covid Crisis Threatens the World’s Pandemic Recovery
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Opinion
Mihir Sharma

India’s State Is Failing Its Covid Test

In the absence of a strong and capable government, whether you live or die largely depends on who’s in your phone book. 

Indians feel abandoned by the government. 

Indians feel abandoned by the government. 

Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Getty Images

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If you are lucky enough to be healthy in Covid-haunted Delhi, life feels strangely disconnected. Offline, there’s an undeclared lockdown. The normally noisy city is silent except for the sound of birds.

Social media, on the other hand, is an unfolding tapestry of tragedy. People beg for help finding hospital beds and life-saving medicines. Friends and acquaintances call and text asking if you know where they can get an oxygen concentrator for the home. In one way or another, everyone is battling the virus.