Second Wave Of COVID-19 In India Is Spreading Faster, Over 40K New Infections In Past 24 Hours
Around the world, the second or third wave of COVID-19 pandemic has been deadlier than the previous one, and India too, it appears, is heading in that direction.
In the past 24 hours, India recorded 40,953 new coronavirus infections, the highest in 111 days.
With this the nationwide Covid-19 tally has gone up to 1,15,55,284, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
While the death toll increased to 1,59,558 with 188 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. On November 29, 41,810 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,11,07,332, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.38 per cent, the data stated.
The rise in cases across the country is causing fears of a second wave of infection, nearly a year after the country went into a lockdown.
Earlier this week, Nomura said in a research note that the risk of a second wave in India has risen materially.
Nomura said that India is potentially entering its second wave of Covid-19. The first wave peaked in the third week of September with daily cases at 92,000, with cases declining to a low of 11,000 in mid-February.
While the initial pick-up was mainly led by Maharashtra, cases have now risen in other states as well, such as Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh among others, in varying paces, Nomura said.
India is likely to witness higher infection cases in the coming months, the research said.
India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20 lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for "quick and decisive" steps to stop the emerging "second peak" of COVID-19.
Expressing concern over the rise in COVID-19 cases in parts of the country, Modi warned chief ministers during a video interaction that a "nationwide outbreak" may emerge again, and asked them to seriously follow the "Test, Track and Treat" approach.
The prime minister also made a vigorous push for use of the RT-PCR method so that it accounts for more than 70 per cent of the overall testing.
