Story so far: During this poll season, mentions of the COVID-19 pandemic are still doing the rounds. Countering the Modi government’s claims of providing free novel Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) vaccines to citizens, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the BJP was dragged into the act by the Opposition and the Supreme Court. He added that it was hard to forget the “extent of the mismanagement” that occurred during the pandemic.
More than four years ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, sending countries across the world into shutdowns to stop the spread. While the WHO declared an end to the global health emergency due to COVID-19 last year, new cases and deaths are still being recorded across the world, even in India – one of the nations worst-hit by the virus. Since March 2020, India lost over 5.3 lakh citizens to the virus.
While cases are at an ebb, further concerns have arisen about ‘long Covid and vaccine hesitancy.’ We take stock of where we stand today with regard to COVID-19, and take a brief look at the nation’s battle with the virus.
