what's so special about India?

[HughC]

I don't know why people are getting so worked up about the situation in India.
Since the pandemic began the country has reported 174 deaths per million,
which is fewer than die from all causes in five days.
Many countries -- including the UK -- have recorded ten times as many.

The Covid deaths in India are increasing each day at about 2.7 per million.
That rate is slightly less than Germany's; Brazil (for example) has four times as many.
If the government wants to do something useful it should stop sending equipment to India and send it instead to where it's needed: see
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
for compative figures.

[Ruskie]

I have no idea, but maybe the govt want to help because:

The numbers of cases and deaths are a lot higher than official recorded numbers?
Close association between India and the UK?
They don't have a health system as good as some other countries?
They don't have near enough doses of the vaccine?
They are a huge poor population?
The Indian covid variant is more deadly?
They don't want travellers returning from India to trigger more waves (and they may be unsure if current vaccinations are effective against the new variant)?
They want to be seen to be helping / doing the right thing, as other countries are doing so.

Just a few possible thoughts. 

[iluleah]

Choices have to be made ie the UK can't 'help/support/finance everyone and maybe India because of the past history with the UK , the connection that many British people travel to India to see family and Indians travel to Britain for the same reasons and it is a Commonwealth country..unlike Germany or Brazil

[majm]

Many, perhaps more than 9,000 Australians have travelled to India since mid March 2020 when Australia effectively closed the borders.  Most of those Australians were birn in India, of Indian born parentage.    These Australians are Australian by a deliberate choice.  Many nations, allow for these citizens who choose to become citizens by fulfilling all the legalities in seeking to be naturalised, to also retain citizenship of tgeir birthplace.   

India does NOT allow dual citizenship fir those Australian citizens who were birn in India and who are now Australian citizens, but who sought express permission from the Australian Government based on humanitian compassionate grounds to fly to India to attend to urgent family matters and who now seek to return to Australia. 

A limited number of those Australians may be allowed to return to Australia on dedicated flights, and be quarantined at the Howard Springs facility for two or more weeks .... so those 9000 may be back in Australia before the next federal elections which are due around this time 2022.

There are 173 minors who are Australuan citizens and the Australian carrier, Qantas does not usually allow unaccompanied minors on international flights.  Those minors were anticioating being accomoanied by relatives visiting on visa  ... grandoarents, aunts, uncles,, cousins...

So thete are various significant issues facing Australians in India at present.  Likely other nations citizens may have similar hurdles during the Covid crisis in India at present.

JM one finger typing.  Please excuse spelling.

[Ruskie]

I think iluleah has probably given the right answer. 

There is this JM:
https://india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/dualnlty.html#:~:text=The%20Constitution%20of%20India%20does,known%20as%20'dual%20citizenship'.
(apologies - shrink link wouldn't work for me)
(off topic sorry Hugh)

[Josephine]

I think it's because their healthcare system can't handle the extra load.

In Canada, the healthcare system has been broken for decades, and the fear of it collapsing completely seems to be motivating the severe lockdown measures here.

[majm]

Thanks Ruskie.   I will pass info on to my friends who became Australian Citizens 26 Jan 2020.  They are of the understanding they have no entitlement to dual citizenship.

JM

[DianaCanada]

I think it's because their healthcare system can't handle the extra load.

In Canada, the healthcare system has been broken for decades, and the fear of it collapsing completely seems to be motivating the severe lockdown measures here.

Why do you say our healthcare system “has been broken for decades”?  Pretty sweeping statement and I’ve seen no personal evidence of that.  The “severe lockdown” is not different from what other countries have imposed, but admittedly it could have been less stringent in the non-hotspots.
Sorry, not trying be confrontational, just a bit mystified.  And sorry got going off topic.

[Josephine]

I think it's because their healthcare system can't handle the extra load.

In Canada, the healthcare system has been broken for decades, and the fear of it collapsing completely seems to be motivating the severe lockdown measures here.

Why do you say our healthcare system “has been broken for decades”?  Pretty sweeping statement and I’ve seen no personal evidence of that.  The “severe lockdown” is not different from what other countries have imposed, but admittedly it could have been less stringent in the non-hotspots.
Sorry, not trying be confrontational, just a bit mystified.  And sorry got going off topic.

I've seen the evidence of it for decades in Ontario. Emergency departments in Toronto are perpetually overcrowded and stressed to the limit. There has been a shortage of family physicians in Ontario for decades; as a result, a lot of people use the emerg as a substitute. Higher populations = higher need for a healthcare system that was downsized decades ago and hasn't been expanded sufficiently in the intervening years. The more people you have, the more people in crisis are brought to the emerg as well.

As for our lockdown measures, they're severe... unless you want to fly here from a hot spot such as India, or walk across the border from the US without legal permission, in which case, come on in, no worries. But if you live here already, don't try to travel between provinces without the right papers from the right authorities. And Quebec's still under curfew, right?

A huge part of the blame rests on the federal government, first for destroying most of the country's PPE that was in storage and failing to replace it, and second, for botching the vaccine acquisition process.