Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

'Cooped up' Indians throng malls and markets weeks after Covid surge

'Cooped up' Indians throng malls and markets weeks after Covid surge

A few weeks ago, New Delhi's crematoriums were operating around the clock dealing with Covid-19 victims. Now the Indian capital's shopping malls and markets are buzzing again.

But doctors are worried that India is letting its guard down again, just like in January and February before a devastating coronavirus surge that led to a near-collapse of the healthcare system.


Clutching a bag of clothes as she shopped with her new husband at Delhi's busy Select City Walk mall, Surili Gupta said she was "fed up being cooped up inside".

"I needed this break, for how long you can remain locked up?" the 26-year-old sales executive told AFP as she waited for a table at the mall's packed food hall.

"The coronavirus is not going any time soon, so one has to learn to live with it. I am sure with the vaccinations and all, we will be fine."

Behind her, a big weekend crowd chatted and laughed over Indian dosas and Chinese noodles, paying scant regard to public announcements reminding them about social distancing and wearing masks.

A couple queueing at a popular burger joint squabbled, masks hanging from their faces.

Mall staff performed perfunctory temperature checks and reminded people to sanitise their hands.

Not far away, shoppers thronged the open-air warren of shops and stalls at Lajpat Nagar market, bargaining for scarves, bangles and cheap cosmetics.

There was lively trade for food vendors, who sold kulchey-chholey -- flatbread served with spicy chickpeas -- and other favourites to punters, masks dangling as they ate.

"I would not have come today but it was very urgent," Prerna Jain, 21, a college student who had come with her mother, told AFP.

"My cousin is getting married and I needed to buy some stuff. I know it's not yet safe but what can I do? This (event) is equally important."

- Funeral pyres -

Delhi, a megacity of 20 million people, saw horrendous scenes in April and May when coronavirus cases went through the roof, as they did across the country.

Crematoriums ran out of space, burning bodies day and night, as gasping patients died outside hospitals, unable to get beds, oxygen and drugs.

India's death toll more than doubled to more than 330,000, according to official figures. Many experts suspect the true toll is over a million.

The surge was blamed on new virus variants but also on the government having allowed massive religious festivals, state elections and crowds at cricket matches.

Now, the surge is over and Indian authorities are loosening lockdowns, letting people work and shop again.

- 'Explosion' -

On some days in Delhi now, there are no funerals for Covid-19 victims, down from 700 a day during the recent peak.

Sandeep Budhiraja, medical director at Max Healthcare in the capital, said he was surprised at people's short memories.

"People are just behaving as if nothing happened just about two, three weeks back. And this is... amazing," Budhiraja told AFP.

But while this will likely lead to a sharp rise in cases, for a new "explosion" a new virus variant would have to take hold, he said.

A new variant, "Delta-plus", has been identified, which appears more transmissible and more resistant to treatment, he added.

One reason for hope, however, is that unlike in January and February, the authorities are preparing the healthcare system for another wave, Budhiraja said.

But vaccinations remain slow. Barely five percent of Indians have had two shots.

"Until the country is vaccinated, with over a billion people getting vaccinated, there is no way we can ever think of the pandemic coming to an end," Budhiraja said.

More For You

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less
Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less