As India descends into Covid disaster with a record surge in case numbers and deaths, the overwhelming atmosphere is one of chaos. Hospitals are inundated with new patients and vital supplies are running low. Patients and their relatives have resorted to desperate pleas on social media, begging for resources including oxygen, ICU beds and blood plasma. 

In response, thousands of Gen-Z Indians have come together on Twitter to help them. “All the infrastructure is basically collapsing at the moment,” said Sankul Sonawane, 18, a high school student from the western Indian city of Pune. “It’s basically a last gasp of asking for help from strangers on the internet to save their loved ones.” 

Sonawane described how he and his classmates have been working round the clock for the past two weeks to contact hospitals and suppliers, posting the crowdsourced, verified information online. He spends much of his day on hold to hospital receptions in his home city, asking if they have spare ICU beds. He believes there are tens of thousands of young people like him across the country doing the same work. A search for “Covid Delhi ICU or Plasma” on Twitter brings up a wall of information and offers of assistance from people like Sonawane. 

On Friday, India reported a record 332,730 cases, the world’s highest one-day tally for the second day in a row. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been criticized for his handling of the pandemic, said the current situation was “like a storm.”