India becomes second country to cross 10 million Covid cases amid chronic ‘mask fatigue’

Experts say that while infection numbers have fallen recently, India has many reasons not to let down its guard just yet. Shweta Sharma reports

A woman walks past a mural in Delhi (AFP via Getty Images)

India has become only the second country in the world to cross 10 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, with the last million recorded in about one month despite a significant drop in new infections in recent days.

Health experts say that while daily infections are considerably down on a peak of almost 100,000 a day, India must be on its guard for a rebound in the new year as fatigue with public-safety measures spreads through the population.

Speaking to The Independent, one of the country’s leading virologists Dr Shaheed Jameel points out that the media hype around vaccines could do more harm than good in the short term, with the perception that a solution to the crisis has already arrived.