Please avoid using #COVIDSOS and #COVIDEmergency hashtags for general COVID tweets to allow easier identification of Tweets that need urgent help.

— Parminder Singh (@parrysingh) April 19, 2021

#COVIDSOS: Indian Twitter becomes a platform of hope amid despair | Al Jazeera |

After spending hours fruitlessly calling government helplines in a search for a hospital bed for a critically ill COVID-19 patient, Indian lawyer Jeevika Shiv posted an SOS request on Twitter.

"Serious #covid19 patient in #Delhi with oxygen level 62 needs immediate hospital bed," Shiv, part of a 350-member COVID-19 volunteer Medical Support Group, said on Twitter late last week.

Daily cases rises now above 315,000

India is reporting more than 250,000 new COVID-19 cases a day in its worst phase of the pandemic. Hospitals are turning away patients and supplies of oxygen and medicines are running short.

In response, people are bypassing the conventional lines of communication and turning to Twitter to crowdsource help for oxygen cylinders, hospital beds and other requirements.

The result is hoarding of supplies and not getting help were it's needs most urgently.