Experts point out that lockdowns will once again destroy livelihoods and squeeze the economy. Instead, they say, India must double down on genomic sequencing to spot new variants
With the festivals of Holi and the Mahakumbh in Haridwar just round the corner, and five states in the midst of a hectic election season, India's 'second wave' is firmly upon us, data indicate.
"A second wave of Covid-19 in India is very clear from the data now," said Rijo John, a health economist and adjunct professor at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kerala.
This rise comes along with the presence of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and scientists are still trying to figure out how these variants behave. Is another lockdown the answer, or is it somehow getting individuals, communities, businesses and administrators to behave with Covid-19 precautions?
Experts point out that lockdowns will once again destroy livelihoods and squeeze the economy. Instead, they say, India must double down on genomic sequencing to spot new variants, the pace of vaccination must pick up, and Covid-19 precautions must continue apace.
The numbers
"When Covid-19 cases began to fall in early 2021, people began to feel like the pandemic was behind us," said Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India. "With greater mobility and mingling, we gave the SARS-CoV-2 virus an additional chance to surge through."
India's confirmed cases of Covid-19 had reached its peak on September 16, 2021, at 97,860 cases confirmed in a single day. From this high point, India's Covid-19 numbers came down to a low of just 8,579 cases confirmed on February 1, 2021.
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