India’s Covid caseload per million people was 0.13 on December 27 (total 3421 cases). In view of the fact that majority of the population in India have already been vaccinated in India and have developed hybrid immunity, there is no reason to overreact, writes Anil Manocha
For India, It would be economically damaging to overreact. The nature of a pandemic always calls for caution but not getting panicked. Measures such as mock drill, masking mandates and enhanced vaccination drive should be the priority. This approach will keep infections under check without derailing economic growth. Days after it faced nationwide anti-government protests against its stringent zero-Covid policy, China’s National Health Commission announced that Covid-19 management will be downgraded from Class A to B from next month. It will fall in the same category as less-severe diseases such as dengue fever. China will cancel inbound quarantine for international arrivals starting from January 8, 2023, it said. Officials argue that the Omicron variant was not as lethal as the Delta strain, which caused massive casualties all over the world.
China is the last major economy in the world to move to “living with Covid” after three years of lockdowns, closed borders and mandatory quarantine for Covid cases and contacts. The so-called zero-Covid approach battered the economy and made citizens weary of restrictions and repeated tests. Resentment against the policy exploded into rare public protests. Authorities said they would also “optimise” visa arrangements for foreigners wishing to come to China for work and study, as well as family visits and reunions. Chinese citizens wishing to apply for passports to travel abroad will also be able to do so from 8 January, the immigration authority announced. Prior to the pandemic, the number of outbound tourists from China stood at 155 million in 2019, this number dropped to 20 million in 2020.
India’s healthcare system has gone through a mock drill to cope with a scenario where Covid cases surge. Hospitals across the country held “drills” to assess capacities in case there is a surge in Covid-19 cases. There are, however, no signs of any spike in India based on case numbers, which have dropped consistently from a little under 300 in the week leading to December 1 to 173 in the seven days prior to December 26.
Dr Ashok Seth, chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, in Delhi said, “The mock drill is important to know how well our system is functioning on ground. How ready we are. Experts have also pointed out the need to focus on vaccination as part of being alert. The government last week included a new vaccine, a nasal delivery dose known as iNCOVACC, adding to its arsenal of tools to fight the pandemic and hoping that the new dose helps rid the hesitancy. As of December 28, India recorded fewer than 500 cases a day on average for four weeks now.
