While India Crosses 2 Lakh COVID-19 Cases, Infection Expected To Peak In June-July

COVID-19 cases in India have leaped to 2,16,919 on Wednesday after a single-day count hit a new high of 9,304. The death toll due to the novel coronavirus crossed the 6,000-mark.

The country has began the "unlock" process after over two months of nationwide lockdown which hit the economy and employment, even as the cases surge after migrants' movement into hinterlands, which were earlier safe from the virus.

On June 2, the government said India is far away from the peak of COVID-19 spread, adding that the country's preventive measures have been "very effective", putting it in a much better position in comparison with other countries.

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Addressing a press conference on the COVID-19 situation, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said it is wrong to just look at the total number of cases and state that India has the seventh-highest number of cases as the population of countries also should be taken into account.

"Our COVID-19 fatality rate of 2.82 per cent and amongst the lowest in the world, compared to a global fatality rate of 6.13 per cent. We have been able to achieve this due to timely identification of cases and proper clinical management," Agarwal said.

However, the country hasn't yet witnessed a peak in COVID-19 cases.

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Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has asserted that the country is still ¡°very far away from the peak¡±.

In an infectious disease, a peak signifies the point at which the daily case count will start to fall. Over the last few days, over 8,000 new cases have been reported from across the country daily and the daily count is set to touch the 10,000-mark in a few days.

The statement is in line with several statements by top government officials, including from NITI Aayog and AIIMS, that the worst months are likely to be June and July, according to a report by Indian Express.

Experts say that when there is a single peak, multiple ones, or waves, in case of an infectious disease, it doesn't mean the outbreak is over but it usually means the worst is over as the cases start to fall.

The country has gradually started the unlock process to come out of the lockdown phase and the surge in cases only means that social distancing norms must be strictly enforced and followed to keep the damage at minimum.