Active Covid-19 cases wane in major cities as second wave recedes in June

Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata have seen the biggest reductions in active caseload in June

India’s larger-than-expected second wave is firmly on the decline as fresh daily cases dipped below 60,000 on Sunday for the first time in more than 80 days. The figure is a far cry from the peak of more than 4 lakh single-day cases that India had witnessed in early May.

June has brought some relief to citizens as the caseload has declined sharply and positivity rates have plummeted in most large cities, prompting several states to ease lockdown measures in a phased manner.

Overall, the country’s active caseload has dropped about 62 per cent since the end of May, while the daily positivity rate has slipped to 3.2 per cent—a massive reduction from the high rates seen at the end of April, when about one in four people tested were found to be infected with the disease.

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However, the country’s cumulative case fatality rate—the ratio of total deaths to cases—has remained elevated despite the fall in the number of active cases, and stood at 1.3 per cent by Sunday.

Of the major cities, Delhi’s active case load has fallen nearly 80 per cent in June in tandem with its positivity rate, which has dropped to a low of 0.2 per cent. The city had been one of the worst affected during the second wave of the pandemic as cases spiked uncontrollably and overwhelmed the city’s medical infrastructure.

Active cases in Kolkata have also fallen 80 per cent since the start of the month, according to data from Covid19org. Kolkata currently has 2,118 active cases.

Chennai has seen a its active Covid-19 cases plummet by 90 per cent this month from 33,922 at the end of May to 2,262 as on Sunday. The city has also been one of the fastest among major cities in second-dose vaccinations, fully inoculating more than 13 per cent its populace.

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The active caseload in Mumbai has seen a 22 per cent decline so far this month, but this is because the city had already seen a substantial 60 per cent drop-off in active cases in May.

Ahmedabad has seen a fall of about 70 per cent in active cases in June, after registering a substantial reduction in May as well.

Bengaluru still tops the charts in terms of active cases in the country with more than 70,000 still infected or under treatment, though the figure has halved since the end of last month.

Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram has only clocked a 13 per cent drop in active cases so far this month, though the number is down more than 70 per cent since the highest active caseload the city had seen in the middle of May.