STRICKEN REPUTATION

THE DEVASTATING SECOND WAVE OF THE PANDEMIC SEVERELY UNDERMINED PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE CENTRAL AS WELL AS STATE GOVERNMENTS

- SONALI ACHAR JEE

The second wave of Covid-19 hit India like wildfire. On March 25, the country reported 59,000 new infections. Ten days on, we accounted for one in every six new infections globally. May 5 brought even worse news with India becoming the first nation to cross over 400,000 new infections in a day. While the caseload began to decline thereafter, by June 1, we had added 16 million cases to our total confirmed cases during the second wave alone. In comparison, the 13 months before the onset of the wave had seen a total of 11 million cases.

The alarming statistics sparked a series of questions— most importantly, what had triggered the second wave— so that the knowledge could be used to prevent a repeat of such an unprecedented crisis. The July study by ICMR (the Indian Council of Medical Research) says the Delta variant of the virus led to 80 per cent of all ‘breakthrough infections’ (people getting infected even after vaccination) in the second wave. But respondents of the India Today Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey believe other reasons were more to blame. While 12 percent said new strains of the virus had caused the second wave, 27 per cent held large religious gatherings and election rallies responsible. Another 26 per cent felt the wave was caused by people’s Covid-inappropriate behavior while 32 per cent said it was a result of all three factors.