Data drive: India seeing a second Covid wave?

On Friday, India recorded 23,285 new Covid-19 cases, as cases in most parts of the country started rising. While Maharashtra accounts for a majority of the infections, cases in Delhi, Punjab and Karnataka have also been rising. Now, 12 states account for 83% of India’s cases, with Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab all recording over 1,000 infections daily. While deaths have been rising as well, the rise is not as sharp as the rise in cases. Moreover, over 90% of the deaths in the country have been recorded in 11 states.

Kerala, Punjab and Maharashtra are the only three states to register double-digit deaths. India needs to ramp up testing if it does not wish to go the US or Europe way. While the country was conducting nearly 11 lakh daily tests in October, it has now been averaging just 7.4 lakh tests daily.