Covid and India: 'It feels like we're back to square one'

"I think we've gone back to how things were at this point last year. We're back to square one."

For Ushma Shah, like many in India, it's a strange time with the rise in coronavirus cases in the country.

"I'm trying to go through this situation with a little bit of positivity, but things are not the best," the 24-year-old tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

After lower numbers earlier this year and things looking up, India has recorded a major surge in Covid infections and deaths.

Places such as the capital city Delhi and Mumbai, where Ushma's from, are under restrictions to cope with a rise in cases.

Some areas have reported a shortage of hospital beds, oxygen and drugs to treat people.

Ushma says many in India have been guilty of not following Covid safety rules in the past few months.

"It's been a year and people's frustration levels have spiked with the cases spiking.

"All of us in some way are at fault. But the only way out is that individual effort to follow the rules."

Scenes of mass gatherings such as election rallies and the Kumbh Mela - a religious festival where Hindu devotees bathe in the Ganges river as part of a holy ritual - have attracted criticism.

Rishit Vimadalal feels it's "very counter-intuitive" to think anyone could take part in such activities at this stage of the pandemic.

The 23-year-old says the message of public health being important but having elections and festivals do not go together - and the blame for cases spiking has to be shared.

"If you want the government to spoon feed you all the time, that's not a valid approach to take.

"But at the same time, we cannot ignore the government giving a free hand to illogical people, so the balance rests equally between them and the people."

People were "getting complacent" after lower case numbers and the sign of vaccines, Rishit says.

"It was bound to happen because people were roaming around without masks and doing all sorts of things," the law student in Delhi adds.

As a fan of Holi - the festival of colours - Ushma "understands the sentiments" of people, but feels now is not the right time to celebrate things.

"Probably next year if things are good but it's not something you want to hear about. And it's really disappointing."

Ishaan Kamal is from Bangalore, where like much of India, the situation isn't great right now.

As a university student, things haven't gone exactly the way he thought they would. But despite the tough situation, he's grateful.

"I live in a gated community so things are relatively safer than other places."

Despite not being able to do all the things he'd want to as a 22-year-old, he's tried to make the most of it.

"I'm getting a daily dose of exercise. And I have a bubble of friends that I can meet outside so we've been quite well-off in that sense."

And though Ushma isn't living her best life in her twenties, she still "counts her blessings".

"It sucks but working from home means you have both a job and a home, which isn't the case for everyone right now."

She's learnt to take a "glass half-full" approach now.

"I might be missing out on all the fun parts, but there are daily wage earners, who are fighting for basic survival," she adds.

India has administered over 100 million doses of a Covid vaccine so far and the jabs are seen as the way out.

But hesitancy remains significant, and Ishaan feels it's an issue which needs to be tackled.

"It's not just about educating people. It's about reaching those people who don't even believe that [there is a problem]."

Unless that happens and supplies increase, Rishit says it'll feel like ages before things get back to normal.

"I'm hoping for it to get better by the time I apply for my master's, because that's one thing I'm looking forward to in the next few years."

Ushma is optimistic about the long term and is looking forward to getting back to travelling.

"It's about that discipline of just keeping it calm for the next few months.

"The vaccines are here so we have some relief. There's light at the end of the tunnel, we just need to wait it out and get out of this once and for all."

And for Ishaan, the dream - like for many of us - is a life without face coverings.

"It's about walking into a restaurant or anywhere without a mask and not having to worry about getting a virus that could potentially kill me."

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