New Delhi (AFP)
The Indian state most affected by Covid-19, including its capital Bombay, imposed new restrictions on Monday without ruling out the idea of another confinement, due to the rise in contamination while the vast vaccination campaign is late.
The strongest epidemic upsurge has been recorded in recent weeks in the western state of Maharashtra of 110 million people.
This region, which is home to Bombay, the economic capital of India, is also the most bereaved, with nearly 52,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The number of new daily infections in Maharashtra is catching up to levels seen in October at the height of the pandemic.
As a result, restrictions came into effect on Monday, including a ban on all religious, social and political gatherings.
State Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Sunday "worried about the severity of a second wave if it were to strike the state".
"The simple mantra (principle) is to wear a mask, respect discipline and avoid confinement. We will review the situation in the next eight days to decide on confinement," he added.
The harsh lockdown imposed on India last March has been relaxed so widely that Indian families have once again been able to invite glitzy weddings and cricket tournaments to be held in public, even though the number of participants is still capped.
India peaked at more than 97,000 daily infections in September, before falling to just under 9,000 in early February but, according to data from the Ministry of Health, there was an increase Monday to 14,000 new cases in total.
Currently, the country has only 150,000 active Covid-19 cases, according to government data.
India is the second most affected country in the world in terms of number of contaminations after the United States, for a population of 1.3 billion inhabitants, that is to say four times more numerous.
More than 11 million cases and 156,000 deaths have been recorded there since the start of the pandemic.
- "Main focus" on the vaccine -
In New Delhi, the capital of 20 million inhabitants, there were only 46 new cases and two deaths on Monday.
For vegetable seller Radhekrishna Negi, business is back to normal.
"I'm fed up with corona. I suffered so many losses last year," he told AFP, "for me, corona is over. I'm no longer afraid of the virus now. My family is fine, I am fine, there is no need to worry. "
On the other hand, other residents say they are still concerned about the virus.
"If we look at the situation around the world, wherever they have let their guard down the cases have increased further," said Gaurav Kumar, 44, sales and marketing officer.
"We cannot afford to take this lightly considering the size of our population and the recent history of cases."
"Everyone seems to believe that the corona has disappeared from our country. Me, I do not believe it", underlines Seema Arora, a 30-year-old housewife, "people are stupid".
For Anand Krishnan, professor at AIIMS Delhi hospital, it is too early to say that a new wave is brewing, but he believes that "the main emphasis" should be placed on respecting barrier gestures such as masks and on vaccines.
India has started vaccinating health workers since mid-January and wants 300 million people to be vaccinated by July, or 600 million doses.
But at the current rate of 11.1 million vaccines administered, this could take several years.
For his part, Adar Poonawalla, boss of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII), on Sunday called on countries awaiting supply of Covid-19 vaccines to be "patient", having received the order to prioritize India's "enormous needs".
Asked by AFP, a spokesperson for the company declined to comment on this information.
© 2021 AFP