Indian Doctors Warn of Another COVID-19 “Explosion” After Delhi’s Nearly-Complete Reopening

By
Jorryn
-

To reopen, or not to reopen—that is the question.

On one hand, reopening always brings the possibility of COVID-19 spreading further.

Yet on the other, not reopening means that the country’s economy continues to suffer.

That, and that we continue to gradually lose our sanity while cooped up at home.

But if we’re too hasty, we might end up losing both.

Indian Doctors Warn of Resurgence in COVID-19 Cases

According to The Straits Times, thousands of commuters crowded into underground train stations and shopping malls on Tuesday (15 Jun) in India’s capital Delhi, after lockdown restrictions were lifted.

After the nationwide tally of new infections dropped to its lowest level in more than two months, major Indian cities begun to lift strict lockdowns.

However, the scene on Tuesday has prompted some doctors to warn that it could lead to a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.

Disease experts and doctors have cautioned that a race towards resuming business as usual would compromise vaccination efforts. This is because only about 5% of all 950 million eligible adults have been inoculated so far.

Hence, Delhi’s near-complete reopening is concerning, says doctors.

Delhi’s authorities have stated that should cases rise again, they would impose strict curbs.

India’s Struggle With COVID-19

In May, thousands died in the capital when oxygen supplies ran out and hospital beds ran scarce. Many families in Delhi and all over India could be seen pleading on social media for help.

According to The Straits Times, citizens in India paid 20 times the usual price to secure ambulances and hearses. For those who could not afford it, many died in parking lots, and morgues eventually ran out of space.

On Twitter, Dr Ambrish Mithal of Max HealthCare in New Delhi posted, “Delhi’s top #mall saw a footfall of 19,000 people last weekend – as soon as it reopened. Have we gone totally mad?”

He added in the same post, “Wait for #COVID19 to explode again- and blame the government, hospitals, country.”

“It’s never our fault,” he ended.

In response to commuters who were angry about the long queues for public transport, Delhi’s underground rail network put out alerts on Twitter about peak traffic and longer waits in the early hours of Tuesday.

India’s COVID-19 Statistics

After five weeks of strict lockdown in Delhi, the city’s authorities have lifted lockdown restrictions, fully reopening shops and malls.

Restaurants have also been allowed to have 50% seating, and suburban rail networks have been allowed to run at 50% capacity. Offices have also been partially reopened.

However, vaccinations have slowed due to insufficient supply of vaccination doses. The city government announced that inoculation centres for people ages 18 to 44 would start shutting down on Tuesday because doses were scarce.

Dr Arvinder Singh Soin, a surgeon and leading liver transplant specialist, said on Twitter that “Delhi ought to have unlocked far more scientifically. We are inviting trouble!”

Just yesterday, India reported 60,471 new COVID-19 infections nationwide over the past 24 hours—the lowest number since 31 March, according to data from the health ministry.

It’s probably weird that we’re celebrating having achieved a new low of 60,000, but at this point, we kind of have to take any win we can get.

On Tuesday, India added 2,726 deaths to their tally overnight, bringing the overall tally up to 377,031.

Currently, India’s total COVID-19 cases now stands at 29.57 million. The country’s case load is the second-highest globally, only behind the United States.

Feature Image: Leonid Andronov / Shutterstock.com

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Jorryn
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