India reported fewer Covid cases and deaths because of the high vaccine coverage in the third wave. It is this immunisation drive that enabled the opening up of all economic activities in the country.
The vaccination drive undertaken by India has protected lives during the third surge and now the country has entered a low Covid-19 phase, VK Paul, member, health, Niti Aayog, said on Thursday. India reported fewer Covid cases and deaths because of the high vaccine coverage in the third wave. It is this immunisation drive that enabled the opening up of all economic activities in the country.
Paul allayed fears of a possible fourth wave in July 2022. He did not agree with the predictions made by a IIT Kanpur study that spoke of a possible fourth wave based on a mathematical modelling. But he said the virus was unpredictable and they had to be prepared, but at the same time the country had to resume and carry out all normal activities.
Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council for Medical Research, said vaccine uptake in the country had been high, there was rapid deployment and there was no vaccine hesitancy, which led to wide coverage of vaccination and saved the country during the Omicron surge. The unvaccinated accounted for 92% of the Covid deaths. Nearly 97% of the eligible population got their first dose of Covid vaccine and 82% have received the second dose, with 178.02 crore vaccine doses administered till date.
The health ministry said India reported a sharper decline of 96.4% in cases reported as compared to the rest of the world. India now accounts for only 0.7% of global cases. The country reported 6,561 new cases on Thursday from the peak of 3.47 lakh cases a month ago. The second wave lasted for 117 days, while the third Omicron wave lasted for 42 days.
Covid deaths had fallen from 615 deaths between February 2 and 8, to 144 in the last last week of February. Kerala, Maharashtra and Mizoram accounted for 50% of all Covid cases in India. There is only one state in the country with over 10,000 active cases and two states with cases between 5,000 and 10,000, with 33 states having less than 5,000 cases.
The health ministry has advised a cautious resumption of economic activities. Marriage and funerals allowed, offline classes have to resume without any restrictions, all shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants, bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools and religious places have been allowed to operate at full capacity. Public transport — railways, metros, buses and cabs can now operate without any capacity restrictions. There will be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement including transportation of essential goods. All offices, both government and private, can function without any capacity restrictions. All industries and scientific establishments both government and private has been allowed. All social, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, festival-related gatherings and congregations can now be resumed.
States and districts have been allowed to decide on relaxations or restrictions based on the local epidemiological situation.