<p>Almost two years after India went into the world's biggest lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19, students headed back to school in Maharashtra state on Wednesday, a sign of normal life resuming as infection rates fall.</p>.<p>India's daily coronavirus infections rose by less than 10,000 for a third straight day on Wednesday, a level last seen in late December before the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, data from the health ministry showed.</p>.<p>Last week, Maharashtra state minister Aaditya Thackeray said schools in the state's largest city, Mumbai, would resume pre-Covid attendance, reinstating all activities in view of declining cases.</p>.<p>"Essentially it is more to do with the kind of severity India has seen, both amongst adults and children infected with the Omicron variant," said Uma Chandra Mouli Natchu, a professor of infectious diseases at St John's Research Institute in Bengaluru.</p>.<p>"It appears the disease is significantly milder for both vaccinated individuals as well as for children, even if they are unvaccinated," Natchu said.</p>.<p>India has fully vaccinated more than 76.5 crore of its 94 crore adult population and about 2.8 crore teenagers, but has not started vaccinating children younger than 15.</p>.<p>In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, bazaars were back in full swing after a long hiatus.</p>.<p>Patrons streamed in to enjoy dinner and late-night snacks following the lifting of a curfew last week at Ahmedabad's popular Manek Chowk, a market that transforms into a hawker centre after dusk.</p>.<p>Similar signs of life resuming its normal pace abound across the country. Roads and trains are once again congested as people return to offices, movie theatres are reporting a surge in foot traffic, and in the city of Gurugram near the capital, New Delhi, restaurants and gaming parlours are packed.</p>.<p>"There is hope that people will continue maintaining social distancing and wearing masks as much as possible," said Rijo John, a health economist at the Rajagiri College of Social Sciences in Kochi.</p>.<p>"There is absolutely no reason to keep the economy under any kind of lockdown or restrictions - it is just the behavioural aspect of the people that needs to be observed and enforced as much as possible," he said.</p>.<p><em><strong>Check out the latest DH videos here:</strong></em></p>
<p>Almost two years after India went into the world's biggest lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19, students headed back to school in Maharashtra state on Wednesday, a sign of normal life resuming as infection rates fall.</p>.<p>India's daily coronavirus infections rose by less than 10,000 for a third straight day on Wednesday, a level last seen in late December before the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, data from the health ministry showed.</p>.<p>Last week, Maharashtra state minister Aaditya Thackeray said schools in the state's largest city, Mumbai, would resume pre-Covid attendance, reinstating all activities in view of declining cases.</p>.<p>"Essentially it is more to do with the kind of severity India has seen, both amongst adults and children infected with the Omicron variant," said Uma Chandra Mouli Natchu, a professor of infectious diseases at St John's Research Institute in Bengaluru.</p>.<p>"It appears the disease is significantly milder for both vaccinated individuals as well as for children, even if they are unvaccinated," Natchu said.</p>.<p>India has fully vaccinated more than 76.5 crore of its 94 crore adult population and about 2.8 crore teenagers, but has not started vaccinating children younger than 15.</p>.<p>In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, bazaars were back in full swing after a long hiatus.</p>.<p>Patrons streamed in to enjoy dinner and late-night snacks following the lifting of a curfew last week at Ahmedabad's popular Manek Chowk, a market that transforms into a hawker centre after dusk.</p>.<p>Similar signs of life resuming its normal pace abound across the country. Roads and trains are once again congested as people return to offices, movie theatres are reporting a surge in foot traffic, and in the city of Gurugram near the capital, New Delhi, restaurants and gaming parlours are packed.</p>.<p>"There is hope that people will continue maintaining social distancing and wearing masks as much as possible," said Rijo John, a health economist at the Rajagiri College of Social Sciences in Kochi.</p>.<p>"There is absolutely no reason to keep the economy under any kind of lockdown or restrictions - it is just the behavioural aspect of the people that needs to be observed and enforced as much as possible," he said.</p>.<p><em><strong>Check out the latest DH videos here:</strong></em></p>