Amid fall in India's Covid-19 cases, 3 states see a surge

Despite the country seeing a consistent decline in its daily cases and surge in recoveries, with several districts reporting no daily cases or deaths, the situation in these three states is worrying.

Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala are now on the verge of becoming the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hotspots in India. Despite the country seeing a consistent decline in its daily cases and surge in recoveries, with several districts reporting no daily cases or deaths, the situation in these three states is worrying. The Union ministry of health and family welfare on several occasions highlighted that Maharashtra and Kerala account for more than 70 per cent of the total active cases in India and has urged for increased surveillance.

A coronavirus graffiti seen at the Har Ki Pauri ghat on the banks of river Ganges at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. (AFP/ File photo)

“Kerala and Maharashtra with 61,550 and 37,383 active cases respectively account for 72% of the total active cases in the country,” Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, two new Covid-19 clusters have erupted in Bengaluru city, a sign that the overall situation in Karnataka might decline again. The state government has already allowed offline classes for students of sixth, seventh and eighth grades from next week in the backdrop of the surge in daily cases.

1. Karnataka

The state has registered nearly 946,000 cases of the coronavirus disease till now of which 12,267 people have died and 926,664 have been discharged. On Monday, 368 new cases and two more related deaths were added. Since the past few months, Bengaluru and other areas of the state have been seeing a significant rise in infections. As many as 258 people detected positive in Bengaluru on Monday and the state’s two new deaths were reported from the city.

The emergence of two new Covid-19 clusters in Bengaluru has led to fear of an incoming wave of cases. Forty-two students of a nursing college in RT Nagar tested positive. While the SNN Raj Lake View Apartment in the Bommanahalli area added 103 cases after a function was held in the clubhouse of premises. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) called these two clusters as isolated incidents while the civic body’s commissioner Manjunath Prasad termed them as a wake-up call for the IT city of India.

Amid the worrying trend, the Karnataka government announced on Tuesday that all those who have arrived from the neighbouring state of Kerala will compulsorily be subjected to RT-PCR tests. While the BBMP said that anyone coming from Kerala should produce a negative RT-PCR test before entering Bengaluru.

2. Maharashtra

Maharashtra, which continues to be among the worst affected states in the country, is adding more than 3,000 Covid-19 cases on a daily basis. More than 4,000 cases were reported on Sunday—the highest ever in nearly 40 days. As the state government lifted several Covid-19 curbs such as reopening of schools, resumption of train services along with other modes of transport and organising social and cultural functions—the graph is on the rise again.

In Mumbai, family functions and vacations at nearby tourist destinations are now becoming the new super-spreader events, according to doctors. The resumption of local trains, which are the main mode of commuting in Maharashtra’s capital, has also proven to be a significant contributor to the rise in cases. More than 600 cases were added on Sunday—the highest since January.

Giving indications that Maharashtra might go into lockdown again, Mumbai’s mayor Kishori Pednekar appealed to the people to abide by all coronavirus related norms. Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had stated that the state government would have to take more stringent measures as people were not following the protocol.

3. Kerala

India’s first-ever case of the coronavirus disease was reported in Kerala in January last year. In the initial months, the state had set an example for the entire country as it had managed to contain the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, there has been a rise in the number of daily cases in Kerala with the Union health ministry adding that the situation is concerning as the state has been among the maximum contributors towards the country’s daily Covid-19 caseload.

NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul said on Tuesday that the number of RT-PCR tests had gone down in the state and there was a need to substantially increase them. “If we look at Kerala, the increase in the number of cases can be traced since the time of festivals,’” he added during the health ministry’s press briefing.

However, the state government has maintained that the high number of infections has been a result of the robust surveillance and reporting mechanism. “The rise in the number of cases in the state is due to a robust surveillance and reporting system. We managed to delay the peak of the pandemic and upgraded the threshold of our health system,” state health minister KK Shailaja had said in January.