Dharamshala, 3rd August: India reported 40,134 new Covid-19 cases and 422 deaths on Monday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 3,16,95,958. After the reduction in the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of Covid-19 cases increased week over week for the first time since mid-May. The latest changes could be precursors to the much-anticipated third wave, which experts believe could reach India in the first few weeks of August. For the record, coronavirus cases increased in 17 Indian states and union territories on Sunday. Kerala has had the highest increase in the last week.
Following a low of 581 new cases on June 14, Kerala has progressively seen an increase in infections. On Sunday, Kerala recorded 3,770 new cases, after only seven days of negative growth in July.
Similarly, Maharashtra, which bore the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic during both the first and second waves, reported a substantial spike on August 1 with 6,479 cases. Last week, the state had a positive ratio of 3.4 percent.
An increase in cases over the course of a week
According to Covid19india.org, India reported an increase in the number of cases for the second week in a row, totaling 2,76,534 new infections compared to 2,67,680 the week before. Despite experts’ warnings of an impending wave, India’s overall positive ratio remains below 5%, which the World Health Organization (WHO) believes to be a manageable level for the Covid-19 epidemic.
According to Covid19india.org, the ratio was three percent last week, but the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs put it at 2.4 percent. Kerala led the way with 20,728 cases on Monday, followed by Maharashtra with 6,479 cases, Andhra Pradesh with 2,287 cases, Tamil Nadu with 1,990 cases, and Karnataka with 1,875 cases. The recovery rate in India is now at 97.35 percent.
The third wave is expected to peak in October.
Researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad and Kanpur expect that the number of Covid-19 cases in India would surge again as early as August. According to a Bloomberg story, the experts estimate that the number of instances might reach 1,00,000 or, in the worst-case scenario, 1,50,000.
The third wave, however, is unlikely to be as severe and lethal as the pandemic’s second wave, according to the researchers. India’s daily caseload had surpassed 4,00,00 during the second wave. To reach their findings, the researchers employed a mathematical model. The second wave’s advancement in India was predicted by the same group of experts.
Image Source: indiatoday