Covid Deaths Keep On Rising
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-05-02 02:18:52
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On Friday, India reported fresh Covid cases in excess of 4 lakh for the first time. Deaths were in excess of 3500. The fresh infections numbers dipped slightly on Saturday mainly on account of May Day being a holiday, some states must have carried out lesser number of tests. But deaths due to Covid touched a new high of 3728 on Saturday, confirming the fact that the second wave is becoming difficult to treat and causing many more deaths than the first wave.
But even as cases surge and more people are dying, the Centre has kept up with its policy of leaving almost everything upon the states and not coming up with a centralized response. Although there were reports in the media about the Centre identifying 150 districts where the positivity rate was above 15% and an imminent lockdown in such districts, the Centre just issued an advisory to the states to enforce Covid protocols strictly and go for containment zone curbs.
The states, on their part, are trying various things like restricting the timing of markets, night curfews, weekend curfews and also local lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. Though it has been successful (take Maharashtra, for example which seems to have stabilized fresh cases at 63000), it runs the risk of coming to naught once the restrictions are removed. Hence, along with lockdown or lockdown-like restrictions, the states should also work on containment zone policy. For, the best way to control the spread is to keep the infected and those near them, pinned to one place for 14 days.
Since vaccine stocks are not going to come in huge numbers anytime soon, best use of stocks at hand must be made. The Centre must rethink its policy of leaving states at the mercy of vaccine manufacturers and negotiate a combined rate for the entire nation. Only private hospitals can have a different rate and those who can afford to pay should get the jab at such hospitals. For, in the end, vaccination is the best weapon we have against the virus and India must fully vaccinate at least 60 percent of its population by December at the earliest to provide protection against the third and successive waves.
