Haunted by the spectre of last years crisis, India is bracing for a deluge of Covid-19 cases, with authorities of various megacities bringing in restrictions in a bid to keep infections in check.<\/p>\n
Case numbers have yet to match the enormous figures seen last spring, when thousands died each day and the Hindu holy city of Varanasi maintained round-the-clock funeral pyres for the mass cremation of virus victims.<\/p>\n
But daily infections nearly tripled over two days this week to more than 90,000, a surge driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant that some experts worry could again see the countrys hospitals overwhelmed.<\/p>\n
An overnight curfew has been imposed in the Delhi area that includes the capital,whereweekend movement restrictions will begin on Friday evening, with all non-essential workers asked to stay home.<\/p>\n
Tech hub Bangalore has also declared a weekend curfew, while sprawling financial centre Mumbai introduced a night curfew.<\/p>\n
Even a small percentage of a large number of cases translates to a largenumber in absolute terms, Gautam Menon, a professor at Indias Ashoka University who has worked on Covid infection modelling, told AFP.<\/p>\n
This could potentially stress out health care systems to levels comparable to or worse than the second wave.<\/p>\n
Doctors and nurses who spoke to AFP have so far been optimistic, with fewer severe cases among those patients admitted to hospital and with the benefit of experience.<\/p>\n
Last year, we didnt know what exactly we were dealing with. I think now, mentally, its a little better, one frontline worker at a Delhi hospital said.<\/p>\n
Suresh Kumar, director of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital in the capital, where cases have quadrupled from a handful at the start of the week to 20, said the rise was not a cause for panic.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration has so far shied away from the drastic nationwide lockdown introduced during last years catastrophic outbreak.<\/p>\n
But local officials have watched the sharply rising case numbers with alarm and some of Indias biggest urban centres have moved to impose restrictions again.<\/p>\n
Earlier virus lockdowns were a hammer blow to the Indian economy and many are worried about the financial impact of new restrictions.<\/p>\n
I will be working onlyfor 15 days this month, said Delhi resident Tumul Srivastava, whose office is subject to the 50 percent occupancy limits imposed by the city.<\/p>\n
My salary may be deducted. All this is adding to my anxiety.<\/p>\n
India appears better placed to weather Omicron than it was ahead of the calamitous Delta wave it suffered last spring, when more than 200,000 people died in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n
Back then, hospitals ran out of oxygen and patients desperately scrambled to source medicine after a run on pharmacies.<\/p>\n
In the time since, Indian health workers have injected nearly 1.5 billion vaccine doses, with government data showing nearly two-thirds of the country fully vaccinated.<\/p>\n
That campaign, combined with last years Delta sweep of towns and villages around the country, may help lessen the impact of the latest spread.<\/p>\n
Though we do not have data, this may give strong hybrid immunity against severe outcomes, University of Michigan epidemiologist Bhramar Mukherjee told AFP.<\/p>\n
Preliminary studies have so far suggested the Omicron variant has led to less severe health consequences among those infected, despite its rapid spread.<\/p>\n
Mukherjee warned however that an uncontrolled spread of new infections could still pose serious problems for India, even if the direct virus toll is a fraction of that seen last year.<\/p>\n
As you are witnessing in the US and UK, a major chunk of the working population being sick is affecting the societal infrastructure and leading to chaos, she said.<\/p>\n
I am afraid there may be a period in India when we see the same thing just the sheer volume may make the system crumble.<\/p>\n
by Aishwarya KUMAR<\/p>\n
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As cases rise, India fears another Covid catastrophe - Macau Business<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Haunted by the spectre of last years crisis, India is bracing for a deluge of Covid-19 cases, with authorities of various megacities bringing in restrictions in a bid to keep infections in check. Continue reading