Covid isn't over

The worst may be over, but the threat persists

US President Joe Biden’s upbeat declaration that the Covid-19 pandemic is over and World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ relatively cautious assessment that “the end is in sight” should not lull Indian health administrations at the Centre and the states into complacency. As things stand, the medical fraternity is prepared to concede that the worst may be over. This is certainly borne out by the numbers: The recorded number of new cases has fallen sharply from a peak average of 300,000 in January this year to a little under 5,000 on September 23, and the death rate had