The Covid scenario remains as daunting as it was when India declared a nation-wide shutdown from March 25, as is stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat this Sunday. All hope now rests on a vaccine, the first trial on a human in India having started, in what would now be an anxious wait for weeks for a positive outcome.
While the national figure of the dead in the past four months have reached a modest 32,000, the total infection tally is of the order of nearly 14 lakh, taking India to the third top slot in the world, next only to that of the US and Brazil. In fact, the Indian scenario looked tame only when compared to the US.
While the poor, again, are the worst-hit, the rich and mighty are mostly well-protected in terms of health, though there are big exceptions like the Bachchans. While politicians more or less braved the Covid threat in India, among rare exceptions of late were Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and a Karnataka minister who have been tested positive. The politicos are safely ensconsed in their homes, waiting for the next elections to take place – about which too there is no certainty. By-polls in 56 assembly and one Lok Sabha constituency are likely to wait in view of the present Covid-induced restrictions on public assembly and street shows.
The national daily Covid tally is currently of the order of nearly 50,000 – meaning, India could even overshoot the US figures in a matter of a few months hence, and emerge as the worst-hit nation. While the scenario in Delhi, is showing improvement from weeks of hopelessness there are reports might peak in a week’s time. Reports also say the South – principally Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – might have to wait till September for effecting a downward curve in the Covid graph. In Odisha that lay low for months, the scenario saw a worsening, with its tally threatening to outstrip worse-hit Gujarat and Delhi; and reporting over 1,300 cases a day.
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state, continues to report close to 10,000 daily infections, while neighbouring Karnataka, seeing an uptick, reported some 5,000 cases a day. Some of the north-eastern states like Tripura are also facing serious odds and effecting lockdowns, though the region as a whole maintained relative calm so far. Sikkim has reported the first Covid death on Sunday. The overall adverse impact of Covid on the national economy continues to remain the biggest challenge.