Mothers wearing masks rest with their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Mothers wearing masks rest with their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Mothers wearing masks rest with their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Mothers rest with their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Mothers rest with their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Mothers rest with their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Mothers wearing masks tend to their newborn babies on shared beds inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

An empty hospital bed is seen in a room in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Robert Ballanger hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois near Paris as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, September 15, 2020. Picture taken September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

A woman holds a baby as a girl lies on a hospital bed during the visit of Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at Luzmila Hospital in Amman, Jordan September 14, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Olga Leguizamon, who is a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient, rests in her bed in an intensive care unit (ICU), at the Dr. Alberto Antranik Eurnekian hospital, in Ezeiza, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Rodolfo Velazquez, who is a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient, rests in his bed in an intensive care unit (ICU), at the Dr. Alberto Antranik Eurnekian hospital, in Ezeiza, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, rest in their beds in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), at the Dr. Alberto Antranik Eurnekian hospital, in Ezeiza, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

A hospital bed is seen next to the morgue of 'Hospital de Clinicas' during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in La Paz, Bolivia August 17, 2020. REUTERS/David Mercado

Guards armed with rifles escort Dr. Kumar Gaurav as he makes the rounds at his hospital on the banks of the Ganges River. The guards are there to protect him from the relatives of patients, including those suffering from COVID-19. The relatives keep barging into the wards, even the ICU, to stroke and feed their loved ones, often without wearing even the flimsiest of masks as barriers against the novel coronavirus. It's the monsoon season, and the humidity is reaching unbearable levels. But the few air conditioners in the hospital aren't working, and some relatives use hand fans to keep their loved ones cool in wards dirty with garbage and discarded protective equipment. It wasn't supposed to be like this for Kumar. Nine years ago, the 42-year-old psychiatrist moved his family back to his hometown for a quieter life and better pay after three years in the Indian capital, New Delhi. He accepted a job as a medical professor and consultant psychiatrist at the 900-bed Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, named after India's first prime minister. Life was uneventful but rewarding, spent teaching classes and visiting his psychiatry patients. Now, with some doctors struck down by the coronavirus and others refusing to work, he has been named the top official at the hospital, despite being one of its most junior consultants ? and suffering from diabetes and hypertension, two risk factors for severe COVID-19. But he says he felt compelled to volunteer for the job. "A lot of my colleagues refused," he says. "I had to take up the responsibility." In April, as the pandemic struck here in the eastern state of Bihar, the hospital was selected as one of just four COVID-dedicated hospitals for a population of 100 million people ? at least in theory. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A COVID-19 patient lies on a hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 26, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A COVID-19 patient lies on a hospital bed as her son sits on the floor beside her, at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 26, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

COVID-19 patient Parsada Sah, 67, a shopkeeper, lies on a hospital bed as his wife Vimla Devi, 62, sits next to him in the emergency ward as they wait for Sah to be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Patients sit on hospital beds inside the emergency ward of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, in Bihar, India, July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A woman comforts her husband as they sit on a bed in the emergency ward of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 28, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

An old locker hangs next to medical equipment above a hospital bed in the emergency ward of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 28, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A man holds up an intravenous (IV) drip being used to treat his relative as they wait for him to be transferred to a hospital bed in the emergency ward of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 28, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A patient suffering from diabetes lies on a hospital bed as his family look after him on the emergency ward of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 26, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Sameer, 22, a medical worker, carries an oxygen cylinder on his shoulder as COVID-19 patient Parsada Sah, 67, a shopkeeper, is carried on a stretcher by his son Manoj Kumar Sah, 45, and Sameer's colleague as Parsada Sah is transferred from the emergency ward to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 27, 2020. Even though Sah's family know that he is infected, the family goes inside the ward to feed Sah. "The staff just puts the food on the bed; they don't feed anyone," Manoj says. "If the patient can't eat himself, he has to get someone to help." REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Manoj Kumar Sah, 45, whose father Parsada Sah, a shopkeeper, has been diagnosed with COVID-19, waits with his mother Vimla Devi, 62, Parsada Sah's wife, in a waiting room before visiting Parsada Sah who is being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, July 29, 2020. When Manoj showed his father's positive COVID-19 test to the doctor on duty, he says he was told there were no beds in COVID wards, and was asked to find himself a bed in an already overcrowded 20-bed general emergency ward. "We were told that this is the only place we can have for now, as there is no space," Manoj said. "We pleaded with them a lot. They told me that everyone wants a bed." REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Guards armed with rifles escort Dr. Kumar Gaurav as he makes the rounds at his hospital on the banks of the Ganges River. The guards are there to protect him from the relatives of patients, including those suffering from COVID-19. The relatives keep barging into the wards, even the ICU, to stroke and feed their loved ones, often without wearing even the flimsiest of masks as barriers against the novel coronavirus. It's the monsoon season, and the humidity is reaching unbearable levels. But the few air conditioners in the hospital aren't working, and some relatives use hand fans to keep their loved ones cool in wards dirty with garbage and discarded protective equipment. It wasn't supposed to be like this for Kumar. Nine years ago, the 42-year-old psychiatrist moved his family back to his hometown for a quieter life and better pay after three years in the Indian capital, New Delhi. He accepted a job as a medical professor and consultant psychiatrist at the 900-bed Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, named after India's first prime minister. Life was uneventful but rewarding, spent teaching classes and visiting his psychiatry patients. Now, with some doctors struck down by the coronavirus and others refusing to work, he has been named the top official at the hospital, despite being one of its most junior consultants ? and suffering from diabetes and hypertension, two risk factors for severe COVID-19. But he says he felt compelled to volunteer for the job. "A lot of my colleagues refused," he says. "I had to take up the responsibility." In April, as the pandemic struck here in the eastern state of Bihar, the hospital was selected as one of just four COVID-dedicated hospitals for a population of 100 million people ? at least in theory. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "BHAGALPUR HOSPITAL COVID-19" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Riley Harrison, 67, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, lies on a hospital bed as he watches television, at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 25, 2020. "I couldn't breathe," Harrison said. "If you got a death wish, play with COVID." REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "COVID-19 HOUSTON VARON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Larissa Raudales, 18, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, sits on a hospital bed as she is checked on by Fernando Olvera, 26, a medical student, at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 25, 2020. "I was terrified... I thought I couldn't breathe anymore," Raudales said. "I just thought I was going to practically die right there." REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "COVID-19 HOUSTON VARON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Fernando Olvera, 26, a medical school student, helps Efrain Guevara, 63, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, get up from his hospital bed, at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 17, 2020. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "COVID-19 HOUSTON VARON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Efrain Guevara, 63, who has been hospitalised after being diagnosed with COVID-19, lies on a hospital bed at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 17, 2020. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "COVID-19 HOUSTON VARON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Hector Ortiz-Garcia, 63, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, texts members of his family from his hospital bed at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "COVID-19 HOUSTON VARON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lies in bed at University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska kosa in Belgrade, Serbia, July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lies in bed at University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska kosa in Belgrade, Serbia, July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lies in bed at University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska kosa in Belgrade, Serbia, July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lies in bed at University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska kosa in Belgrade, Serbia, July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lies in bed at University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska kosa in Belgrade, Serbia, July 25, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lies in bed at the General Hospital, in Novi Pazar, Serbia, July 23. 2020. Picture taken July 23, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

COVID-19 patients rest on their beds inside a field hospital builtÊon a soccer stadium in Machakos, as the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continues to rise in Kenya, July 23, 2020. Picture taken July 23, 2020.REUTERS/Baz Ratner

COVID-19 patients rest on their beds inside a field hospital builtÊon a soccer stadium in Machakos, as the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continues to rise in Kenya, July 23, 2020. Picture taken July 23, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

A COVID-19 patient rests on a bed inside a field hospital builtÊon a soccer stadium in Machakos, as the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continues to rise in Kenya, July 23, 2020. Picture taken July 23, 2020.REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A teacher joins in with healthcare workers during a protest for Personal Protective gear at Kindred Hospital Westminster, a 109-bed long-term care facility, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A worker at Kindred Hospital Westminster protests outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A worker at Kindred Hospital Westminster protests outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A worker at Kindred Hospital Westminster protests outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster protest outside the hospital to demand management take immediate measures to protect them and their patients from further infection inside the 109-bed long-term care facility during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Westminster, California, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Beds are seen at a temporary field hospital set up in a sports complex by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, South Africa, July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A health worker walks between beds at a temporary field hospital set up by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, South Africa, July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

A health worker walks between beds at a temporary field hospital set up in a sports complex by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, South Africa, July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Beds are seen at a temporary field hospital set up in a sports complex by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, South Africa, July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

The Miami Beach Convention Center, which has become a drive up/walk up coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing site and also contains a 450-bed field hospital, is seen in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. July 14, 2020. Picture taken July 14, 2020. REUTERS/Zachary Fagenson

A child who suffers from cancer lies on a bed at the Children's Hospital for Cancer Diseases, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Basra, Iraq July 9, 2020. Picture taken July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani

A child who suffers from cancer lies on a bed at the Children's Hospital for Cancer Diseases, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Basra, Iraq July 9, 2020. Picture taken July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani

A child who suffers from cancer lies on a bed as a worker sprays disinfectant at the Children's Hospital for Cancer Diseases, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Basra, Iraq July 9, 2020. Picture taken July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani