India's plight could be repeated elsewhere if rising cases are ignored

THE situation in India continues to worsen, with more than 20 million cases of covid-19 recorded and health systems overwhelmed. But there is nothing unique about India that means it alone could face such a crisis. Around the world, country after country is being hit by surging coronavirus cases, driven in part by new variants that are harder to control.

The pandemic is accelerating across South America, and cases are rising in many African countries too. In most low…