India reported fewer COVID cases and deaths due to higher vaccine coverage in the third wave. It is the vaccination campaign that has enabled opening up of all economic activities in the country.
India’s immunization drive has saved lives during the third surge and the country has now entered a less COVID-19 phase, VK Paul, Member, Health, NITI Aayog, said on Thursday. India reported fewer COVID cases and deaths due to higher vaccine coverage in the third wave. It is the vaccination campaign that has enabled 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 predictions made by an IIT Kanpur study that suggested a possible fourth wave based on mathematical modelling. But he said the virus was unpredictable and he had to be prepared, but at the same time restart the country and carry out all normal activities.
Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, said that the country has a high consumption of vaccines, rapid deployment and no vaccine hesitation, which led to widespread vaccination coverage and saved the country during the omicron boom. 92% of Covid deaths were not vaccinated. About 97% of the eligible population received their first dose of COVID vaccine and 82% received the second dose, with 178.02 crore vaccine doses delivered so far.
The Health Ministry said that India has registered a sharp decline of 96.4% in reported cases 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 a peak of 3.47 lakh cases a month ago. The second wave lasted 117 days, while the third Omicron wave lasted 42 days.
In the last week of February, between February 2 and 8, the death toll of Kovid fell from 615 deaths to 144. Kerala, Maharashtra and Mizoram account for 50% of all COVID cases in India. There is only one state in the country with more than 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 cautious resumption of economic activities. Marriages and funerals allowed, offline classes to resume without any restrictions, all shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants, bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools and religious places allowed to operate at full capacity Has been. Public transport – railways, metro, buses and cabs can now operate without any capacity restrictions. There will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement including transport of essential commodities. All offices, both government and private, can function without any capacity restrictions. All industries and scientific establishments, both government and private, have been allowed. All social, sports, entertainment, educational, cultural, religious, festival related gatherings and gatherings can now be resumed.
States and districts have been allowed to decide on relaxations or restrictions based on the local epidemiological situation.