India's COVID-19 Cases Continue to Fluctuate with Thousands of New Infections Daily.

India is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, with daily cases exceeding 10,000 all last week. The new cases are linked to the rapidly proliferating lineage of the Omicron virus labeled XBB.1.16, which has been detected in over 33 countries. The WHO has upgraded the new variant to the status of a “variant of interest,” given both its more infectious nature compared to other Omicron subvariants and its highly immune-evading characteristics. The rising infection numbers in India threaten not only the people of the subcontinent, but the entire world. The Modi government has taken pains to reduce the national healthcare budget, which is among the lowest across the world, while continuing to rapidly expand India’s military spending.