JOIN USMaharashtra has 8 of top 10 worst Covid-19 hit districts
Bengaluru Urban and Ernakulam are the only two non-Maharashtra districts accounting for the most number of active Covid-19 cases, Union Health Ministry said on Thursday, flagging that eight of the 10 top districts are from Maharashtra.
Worryingly for the first time in nearly three months, India's case tally reached close to 23,000 with 22,854 fresh Covid-19 cases, riding high on the growing epidemic in Maharashtra and Punjab while Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are at a “tipping point”. The last time India reported close to 23,000 cases was December 24.
With 18,474 active cases, Pune now tops the list of districts with most active cases followed by Nagpur (12,724), Thane (10,460) and Mumbai (9,973). Bengaluru Urban (5,526) and Ernakulam (5,430) occupy the fifth and sixth slots.
The remaining four Maharashtra districts are Amravati (5,259), Jalgaon (5,029), Nashik (4,525) and Aurangabad (4,354).
Even though the western state was one of the epicentres of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in India from the very beginning, it witnessed a steady decline in the number of cases from September till early February 2021. Numbers began to rise again after this. On February 11, the state had 36,917 active cases but the numbers ballooned to 1,00,240 on March 11.
“We are very worried about several districts of Maharashtra. Don’t take the virus for granted. There is a lockdown in Nagpur now and vaccination should be prioritised in the affected districts,” NITI Ayog member Vinod Paul said in a press conference.
The health officials, however, ruled out any role by the mutant strains behind the current surge. “The mutant strains are not causing the surge. Reduced number of testing and tracking coupled with Covid-inappropriate behaviour, congregation of people and resumption of trains may be the factors behind the rise,” said Balram Bhargava, director-general of Indian Council of Medical Research.
While central expert teams are visiting Maharashtra since February, the reason behind the surge has not been determined. “The exact causes of surge are not known as behavioural laxity is not specific to Maharashtra,” says a report made by the ministry experts.
None of the factors cited above by Bhargava and the health ministry report is unique, yet the kind of rise being seen in Maharashtra has not been seen in any other state.
Punjab is another worry, though not on the scale of Maharashtra. On February 11, the northern state had 2,112 active cases but the number shot up to 9,402 a month later. “Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh are at a tipping point,” said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
Paul said the Centre would further expand the circle of people eligible for vaccination but did not disclose much about the plan.