Two years of Covid: India sees rise in vaccination, decline in cases

Two years ago, on March 24, the government imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 cases. Restrictions on movement combined with limited testing resources meant low infection levels in the few months of lockdown. But as the government eased restrictions and started testing more from May 31, cases began rising. In September 2020, India crossed the 100,000 daily Covid-19 cases mark. Deaths during the first wave crossed the 1,000 daily tally during the same period. On October 4, 2020, India had registered over 100,000 deaths.

The second wave was more devastating as India added another 200,000 deaths within 66 days from April 28, 2021. The daily death count during the second wave crossed 4,000. Cases during this wave peaked above 400,000. India recorded nearly 350,000 cases during the third wave, however, deaths were muted, unlike in the US and Europe. One reason for low deaths during the Omicron wave may be India's fast pace of vaccination. 84 per cent people above 18 years had received both doses till March 23, 2022.