On Sunday, India reported 46,951 cases — the highest since November 1.
The current figures are relatively low when compared to the first wave of coronavirus in September when the daily number of cases crossed the 97,000 mark. However, a look at the chart would reveal that the recent surge is more consistent and rapid.
A majority of the cases during the current wave were reported from Maharashtra and Kerala. Maharashtra was the largest contributor of cases during the first wave as well.
During the first wave, the western Indian state contributed nearly a quarter of the total cases reported in the country. In the last month, the state has witnessed a massive surge in cases. It has so far reported nearly 60% of all the cases reported in the country in the last one month.
Kerala, which was successfully able to control the spread of the virus in the initial days of the virus, is also witnessing a rapid spike in the number of daily cases. Over 11% of the total cases in the country reported in the last month were from Kerala.
The states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh seems to have contained the virus. It was observed that these states did not contribute substantially to the current spike in cases as opposed to during the first wave.
Punjab too is witnessing a rise in the number of cases. The north Indian state reported over 5% of the total cases in the last 30 days. During the first wave, the state had contributed 2.23% of the total cases.
A comparison of the daily tests would reveal that the testing capacity has reduced when compared to the first wave. Barring the last two days, the number of daily tests has remained below the one million mark. In the February-March period, the country was conducting less than eight lakh tests per day.
The number of coronavirus cases is expected to rise as the government expands testing.