Some Indian states announced on Sunday that they will expand COVID-19 lockdowns to assist in the containment of the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over 270,000 people in India, as the federal government pledged to boost vaccine supplies.
For the fourth time in a week, the number of COVID-19 deaths in India has increased by more than 4,000, with Sunday's 311,170 new infections marking the lowest single-day increase in more than three weeks.
However, federal health officials cautioned against complacency in the face of a “plateauing” in infection rates, urging states to build more intensive care units and improve their medical workforces.
The lockdowns in Delhi and Haryana, which were supposed to end on Monday, were extended for another week.
Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, said the rate of positive cases compared to total tests conducted had dropped to 10% from 30% earlier this month.
“We don't want to risk the gains we've made in the last week. As a result, the lockout will be extended for another week,” Kejriwal told reporters.
Kerala, which had previously declared an extension of the lockout, imposed tighter restrictions in some districts on Saturday. It warned that anyone who did not wear masks or violated quarantine protocols would be arrested, with drones being used to help identify violators.
For the next three days, the government plans to provide an additional 5.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to states.
Despite the fact that India is the world's largest vaccine producer, only 141.6 million people, or roughly 10% of the country's 1.35 billion people, have received at least one vaccine dose, according to health ministry data.
Just over 40.4 million people, or 2.9 percent of the country's population, have been fully vaccinated.
EXPORTS OF VACCINES ARE CRITICIZED
Domestic production and imports could increase India's vaccine supply to 516 million doses by July, and more than 2 billion doses between August and December, according to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. On Sunday, Russia delivered 60,000 more doses of the Sputnik V vaccine to the world.
After Maharashtra, the richest state, and Karnataka, in the south, but the rollout of shots on hold for adults under 45, the country's overall vaccination rate dropped to 1.7 million on Sunday, down from 1.8 million a week earlier.
Rahul Gandhi, the main opposition leader, tweeted a poster earlier this year challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to sell and donate vaccines abroad rather than meet the country's requirements.
This was in reaction to reports in the media that police in the Indian capital, New Delhi, had arrested dozens of people for putting up similar posters throughout the city.
Following the uproar over the arrests, Gandhi tweeted the poster with the caption "Arrest Me Too," which became one of the most trending topics on Twitter across the country on Sunday.
From May 1, Modi made vaccines available to all adults, bringing the total number of people eligible to an estimated 800 million. However, domestic production will remain largely unchanged until July, at about 80 million doses per month.
Authorities in Modi's home state of Gujarat announced that vaccinations would be halted on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for a cyclone predicted to strike next week.
As the cyclone approaches Gujarat, the government of Maharashtra has shifted COVID-19 patients from temporary medical centers in Mumbai, on the western coast, to other hospitals, according to the chief minister's office.
Vaccinations were also expected to be halted in India's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, according to Reuter's partner ANI, citing the city's mayor.
DISTRIBUTED IN RURAL AREAS
Though lockdowns have helped to contain cases in areas of the country where an initial wave of infections occurred in February and April, such as Maharashtra and Delhi, rural areas and some states are experiencing new outbreaks.
On Sunday, the government released comprehensive guidelines for tracking COVID-19 cases as they spread through India's vast countryside.
Villages were asked to keep an eye out for cases of flu-like illness and have certain patients screened for COVID-19, according to the health ministry.
This week, India's overall infections increased by more than 2 million, with nearly 28,000 deaths. On Sunday, there were 4,077 more deaths.
The government of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, said in a letter seen by Reuters that 19 victims had been found dumped in rivers, marking the first official acknowledgment of the shocking practice.
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