India Covid-19 Numbers Explained: National Numbers Fall Further Even As Global Numbers Rise

A crowded wholesale market in New Delhi on Saturday, October 24, 2020 (AP Photo: Altaf Qadri)

Daily Coronavirus Tracking in India: While many countries in the West have reported record numbers of new coronavirus infections in recent days, cases have continued to decline in India. About 50,000 new infections were detected in the country on Saturday, the lowest level since July 28, except for the big drop last Monday.

For the twenty-second day in a row, more people recovered from the disease than fell ill, a trend that has resulted in a significant decrease in active cases in the country. As on Saturday, there were approximately 6.68 lakhs of active cases, up from more than ten lakhs a month ago.

Daily Increase in New Covid-19 Cases in India.

The decline in India has run counter to the global trend of increasing population in most disease hotspots. The United States, for example, has been reporting more than 60,000 cases a day, a level not reached since early August. France has reported more than 40,000 cases in the past two days, according to the World Health Organization database. Record levels are also being reached in Italy, Spain and the UK.

In India, the current figures are almost half the peak reached in the third week of September, and they are steadily decreasing. And the profile of the top contributing states has also changed. On Saturday, Kerala emerged once again as the largest contributor of new cases. This is the first time that any state other than Maharashtra has been the largest contributor of cases for two consecutive days.

Active Covid-19 cases in India since May 1.

Kerala reported more than 8,200 new cases on Saturday, while Maharashtra found only about 6,400, the second lowest in about three months. At one time, Maharashtra used to be not only the largest contributor, but also accounted for nearly 40 percent of reported cases across India. That daily turnout has dropped below 15 percent now.

Delhi and West Bengal have been the other big contributors in recent days. Delhi is witnessing the third wave of increase and, over the past two days, has reported more than 4,000 cases. West Bengal has reported more than 4,000 cases during the last five days. The recent rise in status is attributed to the Durga Puja festivities.

In most other states, the numbers are steadily decreasing. This now includes Karnataka, which until last week was reporting numbers similar to Kerala, or even higher. In the last week, however, Karnataka has slowed down considerably and its daily number has dropped below 5,000. On Saturday, the state reported fewer than 4,500 cases, the lowest level since Aug. 10.

Similar has been the trend in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. His daily cases have dropped to about 3,000 a day. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have the highest number of cases in the country after Maharashtra. 📣 Click to follow Express Explained on Telegram

Ten states with maximum cases (data as of October 24, 2020):

In Chhattisgarh, new daily cases have fallen from the peaks seen in September, but the state has been reporting large numbers of deaths in recent weeks. It is one of the few states that has seen an increase in its fatality rate, which has now surpassed one percent. Over the past three days, more than 50 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in the state. The total death toll is reaching 1,800.

With Saturday’s additions, more than 78.64 lakhs of people in India have been infected with the virus so far, of which 70.78 lakh, or 90 percent, have recovered. The death count has reached more than 1.18 lakh now.

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