Indian states ease restrictions as COVID cases decline

India reported about 101,000 new infections on Monday and 2,400 deaths – far lower than the nearly 400,000 daily cases it was recording about a month ago.

Country has registered some 28 million cases and 349,000 deaths so far, but experts say the actual toll is far higher.

Meanwhile, India has administered more than 230 million jabs of a Covid vaccine so far - but less than four percent of its 1.4 billion people have been fully vaccinated.

It has also struggled to speed up the drive across the country, partly because of a botched roll-out that saw demand outstrip supply.

Among other things, it allowed higher prices for jabs in private hospitals, which has skewed access heavily in favour urban areas and those who can afford to pay. Vaccine hesitancy too remains a challenge, especially in rural areas.

Despite the drop in case numbers, not all states have chosen to reopen. However, New Delhi and Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana are among the cities that are opening partially.

On the other hand, Rajasthan in the north, and Karnataka, Kerala Tamil Nadu and Telangana in the south have all extended lockdowns until the middle or end of this week.

Delhi's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said more restrictions will be announced if case numbers continue to fall, adding that his government is preparing for a third wave.

In Mumbai, shops and restaurants can reopen but malls and cinemas will remain shut. Local trains, considered the lifeline of the city, will run only for a few hours.

While, in Uttar Pradesh, curfew will continue every night and on weekends.

Haryana state has allowed shops, malls and places of worship to open - but cannot allow more than 21 people in at a time.

In a bid to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, Weddings, funerals and social gatherings have also been permitted for groups of twenty one people.