Surge, Then Decline: How Omicron-Led COVID Spike Changed Course in January

Here's a look at how cases surged in these cities, before it started declining.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/TheQuint)

The number of fresh COVID-19 cases are starting to plateau in India's major cities, indicated the Union Government, in a press conference earlier last week.

January saw all the major cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru – surpassing their second wave tallies and recording the highest fresh surge, while hospitalisations and deaths remained low.

Here's a look at how cases surged in these cities, before it started declining, indicating that we may be moving towards the end of third wave.

Delhi

The national capital started the new year with 2,716 cases, but with 12 days reached 28,867 cases on 13 January. This was not just the highest caseload during the period, but also during the pandemic.

On 14 January, Delhi recorded a positivity rate of 3.60 – again the highest during the pandemic.

However, cases dopped below 10,000 in the next ten days. On 30 January, Delhi had recorded just 3,674 case, with positivity rate of 6.37 percent.

Mumbai

Fresh coronavirus cases surged in Mumbai from the latter half of December – with the city recording 6,180 cases on 1 January. The third wave's peak in the city came on 7 January itself, when the city recorded 20,971 cases. Since then, the cases have reduced by almost 90 percent in the city.

The positivity rate dropped to 5 percent earlier this week, from 29 percent 10 days ago.

On 30 January, the city recorded 1,160 cases, signalling the near end of the omicron-led surge.

Bengaluru

On 1 January, Karnataka's capital recorded less than 1,000 COVID-19 cases – just 810 fresh infections. Within the next 10 days, the city saw a huge jump – recording 9,221 cases, and by 20 January, this number tripled.

On 20 January, the city recorded 30,540 cases – the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.

On 30 January, the city recorded 11,938, but positivity rate remains high at 17.11 percent.

Chennai

Chennai reported 7,564 COVID-19 cases on a single day during the second wave on 12 May 2021. Six months later, it surpassed this toll on 15 January as the city crossed the second wave peak by recording 8,978 cases.

Almost 14 days earlier, the city was recording just 100-odd fresh covid cases. Chennai's test positivity rate had surged from 3.3 percent on January 1 to 21.9 percent by mid January.

On 30 January, the cases halved – with the city recording 3,998 cases. The daily test positivity rate, however, remains high at 17 percent.