India’s Omicron wave recedes, but not the risk of premature death

LISTEN CAREFULLY and a gentle sound can be heard across India: a collective sigh of relief. The third wave of covid-19 to hit the country is ebbing fast. On February 15th Mumbai, where cases rose first, reported zero deaths for the first time in over a month. Unlike the second wave last year, which was fuelled by the Delta variant and killed over 2m people in just a few weeks, according to The Economist’s estimates, the Omicron outbreak passed without enormous loss of life. Official numbers suggest its peak daily toll, in early February, was only a quarter of last year’s.