I’m in India and horrified by the Covid crisis – I never thought we’d see death on this scale here

It is horrifying that many towns in India are running short of space for cremating and burying Covid-19 victims. Last year I saw pictures of mass cremations and burials in countries around the world, with bodies being left on the streets. Little did I realise that India too would be gripped by similar scenes a year later.

Indian Covid-19 cases have soared to about 350,000 daily. The Indian health structure is nearing a collapse. What will happen if the number of daily cases spiral to 500,000 or to a million cases per day? We have to plan for the worst-case scenarios in terms of equipment and resources, even as we hope for the best. India should not be caught napping again. India must also research the new variant aggressively, to understand and neutralise it.

With good management, any problem can be solved, but clearly there is poor management of the crisis in India.

Rajendra Aneja

Mumbai, India

The world is watching a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK needs to help India right now and the British PM must ensure that help is on the way. All the orders of ventilators that luckily did not need to be used in the UK may be better flown to those needing them the most.

Bambos Charalambous

Manchester

Pandemic and pollution – the world’s deadly enemies right now. Although every little step that anybody takes to reduce pollution does help, it is an international problem no country can hide from.

Some people refuse vaccinations, saying it is their body and their freedom and right to decide what goes into their body. However, any body left unvaccinated is a potential source to be infected and hence add to transmission and mutation of the virus. The world is that little bit more vulnerable with each person refusing vaccination. Again, there is no place to hide.

Robert Murray

Nottingham

The SNP’s crass desire to leave the security of the UK is synonymous with little children wanting to leave home but still desiring mummy and daddy to look after them.

Independence could lead to economic bankruptcy and wide open, unprotected borders. Perhaps the reason for the SNP’s focus on independence and reneging on the promise of a once-in-a-lifetime vote is to draw the nationalists’ attention away from the disastrous failures of the SNP in education, economics, healthcare, policing and more.

Glen Harding

Leeds

As we track the stale breadcrumbs of Dominic Cummings’s belated and faux sense of public duty – and he points out what we all knew about Boris Johnson well before he was elected PM (he’s a dishonest low-life) – has no one wondered, why now?

Yes – Johnson was dim enough to point a pudgy finger at his ex-handler over leaks, but that is not all.

Cummings is due to give evidence about the government’s catastrophic bungling of the pandemic, which involved Cummings in so many ways, not least in personally undermining the belated lockdown with the Durham dash, but that is not all either.

This is Cummings’s distraction from his main gangrenous gift to the nation – the economic catastrophe of Brexit.

Brexit is hammering the UK economy and will do for years, if not decades, to come. Yes, Johnson has kicked the can even further down the road with many of the trade rules put off again until the winter – but as this semi-lockdown eases, many areas open to decimated high streets, depression, debt and deep unemployment. So Dom requires some thick smoke and large mirrors to deflect attention from the colossal cost of our ridiculous act of self-harm with our nearest and most populous trading partner.

Cummings delivered Brexit for Johnson. Now he doesn’t want us looking in the pram.

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh

I do hope Dominic Grieve has attained copyright on his “vacuum of integrity” description of Boris Johnson before James Dyson decides it would be a good slogan for his latest product.

Geoff Forward

Stirling