The number of cases recorded in India was under 10,000 at a point in January. Sadly, they are again on the rise. What is more alarming is that the top three states are contributing a little over 76% of the new cases. On March 13, India reported 25,154 new cases. Out of these, Maharashtra contributed 15,602 new cases, Kerala reported 2,035, and Punjab was in the third position with 1,510 new cases totalling 19,147. While Kerala has seen a downfall in the number of cases, Maharashtra and Punjab are possibly heading towards a strong second wave of the cases in next few days.
The 30-day trend
Just 30 days ago, on February 11, India had recorded 9,353 cases. On that day, Maharashtra had reported just 652 cases. Kerala was the highest contributor with 5,281 cases, followed by Punjab with just 306 cases.
The next day, Maharashtra reported over 3,000 cases, and since then, the number in the state has been on the rise. The state crosses the 10,000 marks on March 5 and the 15,000 marks on March 12. The visuals of people breaking mask mandate in Maharashtra are still common. Recently, a video went viral in which a large group of people were seen pushing each other at a vaccination centre. As per the government’s guidelines, only one person can be vaccinated at a given slot to ensure there is no spread of infection. However, the regulations were tossed away.
Kerala, which was leading the race of contributing maximum cases across the country, has come down to the second position. However, the state is still contributing over 2,000 cases. Notably, the Kerala model of Covid management was lauded by many intellectuals during the initial months of virus spread.
In Punjab, the numbers were very much in control in February. The state was reporting less than 400 cases till February 22. After that, the cases started to rise, and by March 4, the state started to report over 1000 cases per day. Currently, the state is reporting above 1300 cases from the last four days, with a rise in cases every day.
Other major contributors in the last 24 hours are Karnataka (921 new cases), Tamil Nadu (695 new cases), Madhya Pradesh (675 new cases), Gujarat (775 new cases), Chhattisgarh (543 new cases), and West Bengal (276 new cases).
Lockdowns announced in Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala
Shiv Sena’s Udhdhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has imposed lockdowns in Nagpur, Nashik, Parbhani and Pune amid the rising number of Covid-19 infections in the state.
Night curfews have returned in Congress-led Punjab in several districts, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. All Anganwadi centres and schools have been closed in these districts.
States sharing a border with CPI(M)-led Kerala have imposed strict guidelines for the travellers coming from Kerala. In Karnataka, if someone is coming from Kerala, a Covid-19 negative report is mandatory. Notably, Lakshadweep reported its first Covid-19 case in January 2021 when it relaxed travel norms and a passenger who arrived from Kerala infected over 40 people. As of now, there are 604 reported cases in Lakshadweep, with 208 active cases and one death.
The current state of Covid-19 cases and vaccination in India
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has reported 1,13,59,048 cases. 1,09,89,897 have recovered while 1,58,607 have lost their lives. 2,97,38,409 people have been vaccinated [state wise PDF] so far out of which 2,43,07,635 have received the first dose while 54,30,774 have received the second dose.
