Every time he hears the phone ring, University of Cincinnati professor Rajan Kamath says he feels a tingle down his spine.
“You don’t …
Every time he hears the phone ring, University of Cincinnati professor Rajan Kamath says he feels a tingle down his spine. “You don’t know whether the phone call is from someone in India who you know has been touched by this virus,” Kamath said. “Most of us have known somebody who’s received bad news.” Earlier this week, India reported more COVID-19 deaths in a single day than any other country as it battles its second wave and a new, deadly variant. The B.1.617 variant first discovered in India is believed to spread more easily than other variants. Friday, the country reported over 270,000 new cases and more than 4,000 deaths. Thousands of miles away, Indian families in the Cincinnati area are feeling the impacts of the second wave in India as it touches their family and friends overseas. “At the community level, (we have) a sense of alarm and horror,” Kamath said. An estimated 15,000 people born in India live in the 15-county Cincinnati region, according to the most recent American Community Survey released by the Census Bureau. Near the beginning of the pandemic last March, Kamath said he thought India had done a good job monitoring the virus in its early stages compared to other countries. “In the initial stages it seemed like the nation of India was doing remarkably well,” he said.
