CLEVELAND — Eyes are on India as the country deals with a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of a potentially dangerous variant.
The U.S. will restrict travel from India starting Tuesday due to COVID.
India's hospitals are overwhelmed and supplies are running low, as the number of new cases rise to record levels each day. The country is also reporting over 3,000 deaths in the last 24 hours.
“It’s heartbreaking. Our families and friends are affected,” said Ritu Mahna, Northeast Ohio resident and President of the Federation of India Community Associations (FICA). “Every single day we are getting news from our family members that are infected.”
Watching the news from half a world away is Ritu Mahna.
While she was born in India, and moved to Cleveland 30 years ago, much of her family is still there.
“Right now they're trying to stay put as much as possible and work from home,” said Mahna.
Mahna is also the president of FICA, a local nonprofit that is dedicated to serving the needs of the Indian community in Northeast Ohio. In response to the crisis in India, FICA has created this fundraiser to help.
The United States has also begun sending test kits, N-95 masks and oxygen to India.
And on Monday, the Cleveland Clinic tells 3News it will be shipping 115 pallets of PPE as well as cots and mattresses to support India's hospitals.
“If it affects one country, it’s gonna affect the entire world, so this is the time for us to work together, as one family,” said Mahna.
India's outbreak is a global problem that can affect us too.
The more the virus spreads, the more chances it has to mutate and create variants that could eventually resist current vaccines.
Mahna also tells 3News that one of her FICA members, a Cleveland resident who traveled to India to visit family, is now worried about getting stuck there. New travel restrictions are set to take effect on Tuesday.