Focus on the pandemic, not the economy

The big lesson of the second wave is that India must stop trying to prioritise economic recovery over emergence from the pandemic - any such effort is destined to fail

The data suggests that the pandemic’s devastating second wave has peaked in many parts of the country, at least as far as case numbers go. (Death numbers lag cases by a fortnight or more.) The growth rate of active cases is now well into negative territory, and has been for about 10 days, even as testing continues to increase.

This is a fact. It is also a fact that another wave is not just possible but likely. The government — at all levels — relaxed far too much after the peak late last year. This cannot be allowed to happen again.