Bengaluru Urban is the worst Covid-19 affected district in India, according to the Union Health Ministry, which on Tuesday said that 35% of active Covid-19 cases had been reported from only 18 districts.
With 8.65% of active cases, Bengaluru Urban is way above the second-highest district Mumbai (3.25%). It is also the only district from Karnataka that featured in the list of 18 districts.
There are seven districts from Kerala, six from Maharashtra, two from West Bengal and one each from Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh that account for more than one-third of 6.25 lakh active Covid-19 cases in India.
But barring Bangalore Urban, Mumbai and Pune (2.35%), each of the remaining 15 districts contribute less than 2% of the active cases.
India’s overall count of fresh infections declines further with the reporting of only 36,470 cases in the last 24 hours. The numbers dropped to such a level last time was on July 18 when 34,884 new Covid-19 cases were recorded.
What is worrisome, however, is that Kerala that is yet to come out of the Covid pangs of Onam festivities and West Bengal in the run up to the Durga Puja now occupy the top two slots among the ten states that account for 76% of new cases.
As they eclipsed, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu that were leading the charts for many weeks, there are concerns on a possible new wave in November after the festive season. The onset of winter also makes the weather conducive for the virus to survive.
With the fear of a second surge growing, NITI Aayog member Vinod Paul flagged such cases seen in several western countries.
“The situation related to the pandemic in the world is particularly concerning and it has been seen that countries of much greater economic capability and per capita income, and having a good health system can succumb to a huge second peak. This must be a lesson for all of us,” said Paul, chairperson of the National Task Force on Covid-19 and a former professor at AIIMS, Delhi.
For the second consecutive day, the number of daily tolls was below 500. Out of the 488 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, 58% were from five states including Karnataka even though Maharashtra and West Bengal top the list with 84 and 59 new Covid-19 deaths respectively.
“Day after tomorrow we will have a review meeting with the officials of Kerala, West Bengal and Delhi. A similar meeting with Maharashtra and Karnataka officials will be held later,” added Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.