COVID in India: Life goes on as bodies pile up

People — many without masks — shop at a vegetable market in Mumbai. India has been struggling to contain a massive coronavirus outbreak, with nearly 24 million infections recorded to date. The country has logged around 260,000 deaths linked to the virus. According to medical experts, these numbers are vastly underreported.

A young man unloads empty oxygen cylinders for refilling in Srinagar, Kashmir. India's health infrastructure has been under severe stress in recent days, with several states reeling under the shortage of medical oxygen, essential drugs, beds, health workers and vaccines, among other vital supplies.

Volunteers at a nonprofit organization carry bags full of unclaimed ashes belonging to COVID-19 victims at a crematorium in New Delhi. As the intense second coronavirus wave grips India, apocalyptic scenes of mass cremations have emerged, as queues of bodies wait outside overwhelmed crematoriums.

A man bathes in cow milk to remove cow dung from his body during "cow dung therapy" at a cow shelter on the outskirts of the city of Ahmedabad. Participants believe cow excrement boosts their bodies' ability to defend against the virus. The Indian government has faced heightened criticism for ignoring scientific evidence and warnings about variants.

A worker carries bricks on her head in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the B.1.617 coronavirus variant — first detected in India last October — as a "variant of concern." Epidemiologists note that this variant may be more resistant to vaccines.

Policemen check the credentials of delivery personnel from India's leading food delivery service, Zomato, in the southern city of Kochi. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has refused to announce a nationwide lockdown over economic concerns, several states have imposed strict restrictions and nighttime curfews to curb spread of the virus.

A woman arrives at a bus stand in Jaipur to leave for her hometown, after authorities in the western state of Rajasthan announced a lockdown. Many people have left bigger cities for their towns and villages in order to avoid a repeat of the massive migrant crisis that accompanied India's first coronavirus lockdown last year.

A young man is seen carrying cans of beer as liquor shops in several districts of Uttar Pradesh are reopened. The northern state, led by Modi ally Yogi Adityanath, has registered one of the largest outbreaks in the country. In recent days, several bodies have washed up on the shores of the river Ganges, which runs through the state. Many believe that they belong to victims of the virus.

Catholic nuns wear protective face masks as they wait to cast their votes outside a polling station in Kolkata. The government has been under fire for holding regional elections and massive rallies during a time when the country was descending into chaos over the new surge. Since the onset of the pandemic, West Bengal state has recorded more than 1.05 million infections so far.

A man dressed as a clown sprays disinfectant outside a house in Mumbai. He told Reuters that he wears other different costumes aside from dressing up as a clown to raise awareness and spread information about the coronavirus. Many in India fear that the second wave is far from stemmed and if the virus spreads unabated, mass grief and mourning may soon be replaced by apathy.