India is only the third in the world behind the US and Brazil to record more than 400,000 deaths.The number of deaths linked to coronavirus in India has moved past the 400,000 mark as the country tries to speed up its vaccination drive.
India reported its first coronavirus death on March 12, 2020. Nearly seven months later, it crossed the grim milestone of the one-lakh mark on October 2.While the two lakh coronavirus deaths in the country were recorded in more than a year (March 2020-April 2021), another two lakh deaths were reported in a little more than two months (April 28-July 2)The second wave of the coronavirus infection started in April. On April 4, India reported more than one lakh coronavirus cases – breaching all the previous records. The trend continued and daily cases and deaths constantly reported an upward trend till the first half of May.For nearly two and half months, India continued to report over 1,000 deaths. On April 14, the country recorded 1,027 fatalities. By April 18, the country was reporting over 1,500 deaths in a day. Soon, since April 21, the toll increased to over 2,000 deaths per day and from April 28, India’s per day fatality was above the 3,000-mark.
Experts warn that the real number of fatalities might be much higher as many deaths are not officially recorded.The country has recorded 30 million cases – second only to the US.The number of average daily cases in India has fallen to just over 40,000 in recent days, down from the peaks of 400,000 in May. The drop in numbers has largely been attributed to strict lockdowns by states.But experts have warned of an impending third wave.
On Friday, the federal government sent a team of experts to six states – Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur – that are seeing a rise in cases. They will assess the situation and monitor the vaccination programme in these states.Less than 5% of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated since the beginning of the drive in January.
The government aims to vaccinate all Indians by the end of this year, but the drive has been hobbled by slow pace, shortage of doses and vaccine hesitancy.