Riding the steadfastly growing second wave of COVID-19, India is reaching new peaks in the number of daily infections almost every day. While Maharashtra has made several headlines for being pushed to the brink as it combats the health crisis, a steep increase in weekly COVID-19 cases in the heartland states also raise an alarm.
Upon comparing the total number of cases from 2 weeks ago, i.e 29 March to 4 April, with infections reported last week, states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan emerge as territories showing stark escalations.
Bihar
The state of Bihar saw the sharpest increase last week, with cases rising more than four times, 331%, as compared to the previous week.
The state registered 14,852 new cases from 5-11 April, as opposed to 3,422 from 29 March- 4 April.
On Monday alone, the state recorded 2,999 cases in the previous 24 hours.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh also saw an unprecedented surge, as 62,005 cases were reported during 5-11 April, in contrast to only 16,269 new cases between 29 March and 4 April.
This indicates that the state saw a 281% rise over the previous week.
On Tuesday, 13 April, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest-ever single day spike, as 18,021 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours.
Rajasthan
In the state of Rajasthan, 8,649 cases were recorded from 29 March-4 April. By the next week, the figure rose to 24,468, indicating a rise of 182%.
With a nearly three-fold increase in weekly infections, the state on Monday recorded 5,771 new Covid-19 cases.
According to a report by the health ministry, Jaipur contributed the highest number of cases (961), followed by Udaipur (709).
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand was not too far behind as it saw a 175% increase in weekly cases from 29 March to 11 April. While 2,383 cases were recorded from 19 March-4 April, the figure rose to 6,548 in the week that followed.
On 29 March, 109 fresh cases were reported in the northern state. By Monday, 12 April, the figure had risen to 1,334. The development comes in the backdrop of Uttarakhand witnessing the mammoth Hindu carnival festival of Kumbh, which commenced on 1 April 2021 in Haridwar.
Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat had earlier dismissed the risk of holding the mela (carnival) amid the health emergency saying that “religious sentiments needed to be given priority” over health concerns.
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh recorded 28,953 cases from 29 March-4 April, a number which increased by 156% in the following week, when the cases recorded were 74, 251.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a high-level meeting on 4 April, following which a central team was deputed to Chhattisgarh owing to the disproportionate number of deaths being reported in the state.
Central teams were also sent to Punjab and Maharashtra.
On Monday, the state recorded 13,576 new cases, while the death toll mounted to 5,031.
Jharkhand also logged a 182% surge last week, seeing a nearly a three-fold increase in fresh cases as compared with the previous week.
Madhya Pradesh, another heartland state, is also witnessing a second wave which is bigger than the first one, as the state's health infrastructure grapples with a daily rise of over 6,000 cases. On Monday, the state reported 6,489 new infections, the highest since the pandemic began.
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