India set another new global record for the highest number of COVID-19 infections on Sunday, logging 349,691 new cases in a 24-hour period as the U.S. prepares to send aid to help the beleaguered country. India has faced shortages of oxygen, hospital beds and medicine for more than 10 days as it tries to get a handle on the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Narenda Modi has come under fire for not calling a national lockdown, and instead on Sunday urged all citizens to get vaccinated and to “exercise caution” in their movements. Modi was criticized for allowing political rallies and religious events take place when the daily cases dropped below 10,000. “We were confident, our spirits were up after successfully tackling the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation,” Modi said in a radio address Sunday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will be sending supplies to help. “Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted. “We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.”
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