As a catastrophic surge of the coronavirus sweeps through India, 24 COVID-19 patients died on Monday at a government-run hospital in the southern state of Karnataka amid reports of an oxygen shortage. Relatives and friends of the dead gathered outside the hospital in Chamarajanagara, many overcome with grief. One man said doctors had told him his loved one was getting better but that he succumbed to the virus all the same. "Our boy had recovered 75%, he would have survived had there been a cylinder (of oxygen), had there been oxygen," he wept. It was unclear exactly how many of the 24 died due to a lack of oxygen, but officials have ordered an investigation. A local government official M R Ravi said he had pleaded with state officials to provide the district's hospitals with adequate oxygen supplies. "Until today we have not got any response from them," Ravi said. The leaders of 13 opposition parties have urged the government to launch a free vaccination drive and ensure an uninterrupted flow of oxygen to all hospitals. India reported 368,147 new coronavirus cases and 3,417 deaths on Monday - numbers that experts believe are vast undercounts because of a widespread lack of testing and incomplete reporting. The health ministry says it has confirmed 19.9 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, behind only the US, which has counted more than 32.4 million. It says more than 218,000 people have died. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been severely criticized over its handling of the surge, which has pushed India’s already fragile and underfunded health system to the brink. Massive election rallies organised by his Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties as well as a giant Hindu festival on the banks of the Ganges may have exacerbated the spread, experts said, adding that new variants could also be increasing cases. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake