Covid-19 crisis: How five states with highest death toll fared in April-May

Maharashtra and Karnataka recorded the highest number of deaths, with a significant rise in the last two months

Five states accounted for nearly 60 per cent of India’s 3 lakh Covid-19 deaths as the crippling second wave swept through the country and overwhelmed the healthcare infrastructure.

The initial signs of an incoming second wave began in late February when the trend in states’ cases began turning upwards after months of steady decline. Despite travel restrictions by some states, a more virulent and infectious variant of the virus found its way across major cities, leading to an explosion in the country’s overall numbers towards the latter half of March.

A panel of scientific advisers set up by the government has said they had cautioned officials in early March that a new variant of the virus was emerging in the country but the government had largely ignored their warnings, failing to impose restrictions on religious and political gatherings.

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Here is a look at how the five states with the biggest death tolls fared in April and May:

1. Maharashtra

Maharashtra sits at the top of India’s staggering death toll with close to 34,000 deaths in April-May out of 88,620 overall. The state was the first to see signs of an incipient second wave in February and identify the B.1.167 variant that experts say has driven the second wave throughout the country. The caseload blew up in the month that followed, with cases reaching a high of over 68,000 on April 18.

2. Karnataka

The state logged over about half of its 25,282 deaths in April-May. Karnataka also has the highest number of active cases and saw its positivity rate spike to 35% earlier this month. The state government had also temporarily paused its vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group as stocks dried up.

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3. Delhi

The national capital is third on the list with 23,202 cases overall, of which 12,715 have been recorded since the beginning of April. The city faced an acute shortage in medical oxygen, which claimed scores of lives and spurred a blame game between the Centre and state authorities. Delhi also topped the country’s case fatality rate (CFR) in May, having the worst death-to-case ratio in the worst three weeks.

4. Tamil Nadu

Of Tamil Nadu’s 20,468 deaths, more than 7,700 came in the months of April and May. Although the state was in a relatively better position when it came to medical infrastructure, it still struggled to keep up with demand for beds, oxygen and medical staff, all of which led to a strict two-week lockdown that was extended by another week on Saturday.

5. Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh recorded 54 per cent of its 19,209 deaths in April-May after cases in the state surged in the middle of April. Like Delhi, patients in UP struggled to procure oxygen, beds and medical supplies. As crematoriums ran out of space for the growing influx of Covid victims, bodies were buried on the banks of the Ganga that were later found floating in the river to huge alarm.