As cases rise in India, locals with ties to country trying best to offer hope in time of despair

There’s a travel warning for India, as its number of coronavirus cases continues to rise and the country is dealing with civil unrest in some area.

The CDC issued a level 4 Travel Health Notice for India, where the entry into the United States of certain nonimmigrant travelers who have been physically present in India is suspended.

This does not impact U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPR), and immigrants.

Death and devastation looms over India as it ranks No. 2 for the most COVID-10 cases in the world, a pain that is being felt here in Jacksonville.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t get a message,” said Gauri Gupta, who lives in Jacksonville but was born in India.

Everyday, Gupta gets a call from a family member or a friend about the devastation coronavirus is bringing to her beloved homeland.

Gupta is also apart of the local Indian Cultural Society of Jacksonville as its president.

“Its’ always somebody’s mother somebody’s father somebody’s sibling who tested to be COVID positive trying to find a bed or get an injection,” Gupta said.

Gupta says loved ones back in India are in desperate need of medical help or the vaccine.

“Entire families are being hospitalized,” she said.

Gupta says resources that were once available seem to be dwindling.

One Jacksonville man is having a hard time finding a flight out of India as the number of cases is now over 21 million.

Mahesh S. was so concerned about the coronavirus in India, he brought his mother to the United States.

In April, he thought things were better in India so he took his mother back it Bangalore, India, their hometown.

He was wrong.

By, video conference he said he rarely sees people.

“There’s no one out there,” Mahesh S. said. “No one can come in fact.”

People are only allowed to walk outside from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

“Nobody walks around, nobody does anything,” Mahesh S. said.

In addition to the virus, he is stuck in India because a flight back to the United States is so rare. He may finally get back to Florida in another two weeks.

Mahesh is grateful he and his mother are well and alive.

For Gupta, this is another devastating week, losing an uncle and a nephew in India just days apart.

Loved ones are cremated before their families can get to them or bury them with a proper religious ceremony.

They hold on to hope that another loved one is not lost to the coronavirus that has already taken hundreds of thousands of lives

Locally, the United States has reported over 32 million cases of coronavirus, the most in the world.


About the Author:

Veteran journalist and Emmy Award winning anchor