India Moves Forward With Reopening As Daily Burden Of Coronavirus Cases Rises To Record

But the death toll in India is still relatively high compared to its infection figures. As of Sunday, India reported 64,469 deaths from coronavirus, about half the number of deaths in Brazil, with a death rate of 1.79%, according to its Ministry of Health.

As infections rise, the Indian government has continued to lift lockdown measures. On Saturday, the Home Office announced that India will enter a new reopening phase on September 1 known as “Unlocking 4”.

That includes the resumption of the country’s metro rail services on a “phased” basis starting September 7, according to the ministry statement.

Under the new rules, gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed at sporting, entertainment, cultural, religious and political events outside of hot areas starting September 21, with the mandatory use of masks and social distancing measures.

Schools and universities will be closed until the end of September, although up to 50% of the teaching staff will be able to return to campus to teach courses online, and students from Year 9 to Year 12 can also return on a voluntary basis.

Facilitate blocking measures

But the strict lockdown, imposed with little warning or planning, also exacerbated inequality and India’s economic woes. In urban areas, millions of daily wage earners were left without work or food, and many made long and sometimes fatal trips home to distant states, often on foot.

Under pressure to resurrect the ailing economy, the Modi government began reversing the nationwide lockdown measures in May. “Corona will remain a part of our lives for a long time, but we cannot allow our lives to be limited to corona alone,” Modi said in a nationally televised speech at the time.

Since then, restrictions at the national level have been progressively eased, although some parts of the country worst affected have applied their own restrictions. But the number of infections has skyrocketed, from just over 180,000 cases on May 30 to one million in mid-July.

On July 27, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the coronavirus had been “brought under control” in the Indian capital, as daily infections dropped to about 1,000 from a high of nearly 4,000 in late June.

“Now we have to focus on the next stage. During Covid, people lost their jobs, factories were closed, people faced losses, it became difficult for people to cope with themselves … Let’s focus now on reviving the economy of the India, “he said. “Without re-imposing the blockade, we have managed to keep things under control … this is essential to improve the economy.”

However, daily infections have increased over the past week, with Delhi on Sunday registering more than 2,000 new cases for the first time since July 10.

Fast-paced cases

After initially seeming to have slowed the spread of the virus, India, the world’s second-most populous nation, has struggled to cope with the rapidly expanding outbreak.

Indian health authorities have said that part of the reason for the increase in cases is an increase in testing. As of Saturday, the country has tested more than 41.4 million people, nearly doubling the number of tests conducted in early August.

However, some experts believe that the cases are not yet reported. Last month, antibody tests on more than 21,000 people in New Delhi found that nearly one in four residents may have been infected with coronavirus.

So far, more than 2.7 million people have recovered from the virus in India, according to government statistics. Patients with mild and moderate symptoms in India are no longer considered active after 10 days of symptom onset if they meet certain conditions. A test is not required to confirm that they no longer have the virus. Severe cases can only be discharged after a negative coronavirus test.

Modi has pointed to the country’s widespread testing, high recovery rate, and low mortality rates to highlight its success in managing the coronavirus. But others argue that the pandemic has revealed the country’s shortcomings in providing widespread accessible basic needs such as health care, education and electricity.