Weekend data took apart the hope that infections in India had finally settled at a low and stable plateau. We must not act as if it’s gone or underestimate the challenge of its persistence That we must learn to ‘live with the virus’ is a no-brainer, especially after 28 months of the covid pandemic.
Economies need to be coaxed back to recovery, businesses need to function as before and human beings forced into isolation need to get their social synapses buzzing again.
But complacency can be costly, as we found out last year, when we ran blind into a vicious Delta wave. And all those who might have declared the outbreak’s endgame should take a look at its curve: it is rising again.
The Omicron wave peaked in January, when India recorded around 347,000 new cases a day, though most infections were mild, our hospitals did not get overwhelmed, and it subsided quickly.