<p>India reported over 68,000 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, registering the largest single-day spike of 2021. Maharashtra and Punjab were two of the biggest contributors to this number, with 40,414 and 2,870 new cases, respectively.</p>.<p>The pace with which these states have added fresh cases since the end of February has caused an alarm across the country. According to a report, of the total 36 districts in Maharashtra, the most affected 25 districts account for 59.8 per cent of the total cases reported in the country in the past week. Meanwhile, it was reported that eight of the 10 most affected districts in the country belonged to Maharashtra.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, Punjab saw a worsening death rate even when the rest of the country was doing better on that parameter. Since February 15, close to 500 Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the northern state giving it a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.5 per cent, much higher than India's. Even the cumulative CFR for Punjab is 3 per cent as against India's 1.4 per cent.</p>.<p><strong>Let's take a look at some Covid-19 trends observed in the two states:</strong></p>.<p><strong>Punjab</strong></p>.<p>On March 28, the Covid-19 death toll in Punjab rose to 6,690 with 69 more fatalities. The state's fresh cases stood at 2,963, taking the total caseload to 2,31,734. The number of active cases is 23,917.</p>.<p>Of the new cases, Jalandhar reported the maximum, 489 cases, followed by 437 in Ludhiana, 372 in Amritsar, 307 in Patiala, 291 in Mohali and 289 in Hoshiarpur.</p>.<p>Punjab was one of the worst-hit states in the Covid-19 second wave which started in India by the mid of February. The state has witnessed an increase of over five times in its daily cases between February 22, when it reported 389 cases, and March 26, when it recorded 3,176 cases.</p>.<p>The state registered its first case on March 9, 2020, and went into complete lockdown on March 22, 2020. Over the next two months, as lockdowns were extended, there was a steady rise in the daily cases of the state. By the end of June, the state government, parallel to the Centre, was opening up the state with the strictest rules for gatherings and events.</p>.<p>On September 17, 2020, Punjab had recorded the highest count of daily cases at 2,896. Punjab only breached that number on Friday, when new Covid-19 cases in the state came in at 3,176. The number of new cases mostly fell between September and the end of January.</p>.<p><strong>Maharashtra</strong></p>.<p>As India sees a second wave of the infection, Maharashtra on March 28 reported 40,414 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the highest rise so far in a single day, taking its tally beyond 27 lakh to 27,13,875. With 108 fresh fatalities due to the Covid-19 infection, the overall toll in Maharashtra reached 54,181.</p>.<p>The first confirmed case of Maharashtra was detected on March 9 after a couple returning from Dubai tested positive for the virus, and the state was shut down on March 22. The state saw its peak on September 11 last year, when it reported 24,886 fresh Covid-19 cases. It then breached this level on March 18, with 25,833 fresh cases.</p>.<p>In the following days, the state's total number of cases increased sharply, with most of the caseload coming from Mumbai, Mumbai metropolitan region, Pune and Nashik.</p>.<p><strong>Why such a surge in these two states?</strong></p>.<p>The surge in Punjab has been attributed to patients not coming to hospitals in time as per the clinical management protocol. This is why the death toll in the state is said to be rising. Experts have also said that these states have a bigger group of susceptible populations. Laxity among the public with respect to Covid-19 protocols like social distancing, wearing masks etc has also been observed. </p>
<p>India reported over 68,000 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, registering the largest single-day spike of 2021. Maharashtra and Punjab were two of the biggest contributors to this number, with 40,414 and 2,870 new cases, respectively.</p>.<p>The pace with which these states have added fresh cases since the end of February has caused an alarm across the country. According to a report, of the total 36 districts in Maharashtra, the most affected 25 districts account for 59.8 per cent of the total cases reported in the country in the past week. Meanwhile, it was reported that eight of the 10 most affected districts in the country belonged to Maharashtra.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, Punjab saw a worsening death rate even when the rest of the country was doing better on that parameter. Since February 15, close to 500 Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the northern state giving it a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.5 per cent, much higher than India's. Even the cumulative CFR for Punjab is 3 per cent as against India's 1.4 per cent.</p>.<p><strong>Let's take a look at some Covid-19 trends observed in the two states:</strong></p>.<p><strong>Punjab</strong></p>.<p>On March 28, the Covid-19 death toll in Punjab rose to 6,690 with 69 more fatalities. The state's fresh cases stood at 2,963, taking the total caseload to 2,31,734. The number of active cases is 23,917.</p>.<p>Of the new cases, Jalandhar reported the maximum, 489 cases, followed by 437 in Ludhiana, 372 in Amritsar, 307 in Patiala, 291 in Mohali and 289 in Hoshiarpur.</p>.<p>Punjab was one of the worst-hit states in the Covid-19 second wave which started in India by the mid of February. The state has witnessed an increase of over five times in its daily cases between February 22, when it reported 389 cases, and March 26, when it recorded 3,176 cases.</p>.<p>The state registered its first case on March 9, 2020, and went into complete lockdown on March 22, 2020. Over the next two months, as lockdowns were extended, there was a steady rise in the daily cases of the state. By the end of June, the state government, parallel to the Centre, was opening up the state with the strictest rules for gatherings and events.</p>.<p>On September 17, 2020, Punjab had recorded the highest count of daily cases at 2,896. Punjab only breached that number on Friday, when new Covid-19 cases in the state came in at 3,176. The number of new cases mostly fell between September and the end of January.</p>.<p><strong>Maharashtra</strong></p>.<p>As India sees a second wave of the infection, Maharashtra on March 28 reported 40,414 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the highest rise so far in a single day, taking its tally beyond 27 lakh to 27,13,875. With 108 fresh fatalities due to the Covid-19 infection, the overall toll in Maharashtra reached 54,181.</p>.<p>The first confirmed case of Maharashtra was detected on March 9 after a couple returning from Dubai tested positive for the virus, and the state was shut down on March 22. The state saw its peak on September 11 last year, when it reported 24,886 fresh Covid-19 cases. It then breached this level on March 18, with 25,833 fresh cases.</p>.<p>In the following days, the state's total number of cases increased sharply, with most of the caseload coming from Mumbai, Mumbai metropolitan region, Pune and Nashik.</p>.<p><strong>Why such a surge in these two states?</strong></p>.<p>The surge in Punjab has been attributed to patients not coming to hospitals in time as per the clinical management protocol. This is why the death toll in the state is said to be rising. Experts have also said that these states have a bigger group of susceptible populations. Laxity among the public with respect to Covid-19 protocols like social distancing, wearing masks etc has also been observed. </p>