India reported more than 11M cases and 160,000 deaths till now. Last week India recorded 260,000 new cases of coronavirus. One of the worst weekly increases since the pandemic started early last year. Experts say poor compliance with security protocols is leading to leaps and bounds. Some people said the new option might also be the cause, but it has not been identified.
In Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, officials said they would carry out randomized rapid tests in congested areas such as shopping malls and train stations. Sources said, “In the recent week of March 15 and 21, India has reported severe increase with 100,000 more cases than the previous”.
India’s daily cases report
India’s workload began to decline in early 2021, and daily infections fell from a peak of more than 90,000 in September to less than 20,000.
However, there has been a sharp increase in recent weeks. While Maharashtra tops the list, several other states – Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh – are also seeing increased cases.
Renowned intensive care specialist, Dr. A Fathahudeen, who has treated thousands of Covid patients, said the increase was not surprising.
He added that “a misconception of optimism” gripped the country as the number of cases fell earlier in the year.
Read more: In a day coronavirus takes 43 lives in Punjab
“People mistakenly think India has reached the threshold of herd immunity, but it hasn’t,” he said.
Dr. Fathahudeen also believed that starting vaccination was helped because the community “equates the arrival time of the vaccine with the normal time”.
“The situation is very far from normal life, also worrying at the same moment. Vaccination needs to be expanded on a large scale and protocols for testing, monitoring and isolation strengthened across the country.”
To date, more than 40 million people in India have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, but this is less than 4% of the country’s population.
The government is targeting to reach 250 million “priority people” by the end of July.
Although vaccination rates have risen – more than three million people are dosed a day – experts warn that if driving is not increased further, the target could be missed.
