NEW TARGETS

COVID-19 cases are being reported in large numbers from districts that had so far been mildly hit by the pandemic

- BANJOT KAUR

FEBRUARY 2021 was a roller-coaster month in India's more than a year-long fight against covid-19. Early that month, the British and American media outlets highlighted the continuous downward trend in covid-19 cases in India. They quoted researchers calling for investigation into how the country beat the pandemic while the West experienced gruelling second and third waves. But towards the second half of the month, India saw a reversal in the downward trend of infections reported since the end of September 2020.

As per the World Health Organization’s weekly update on covid-19 issued on March 3, India witnessed an increase of cases by 21 per cent in one week. This was the second-highest quantum of increase that week across the world after Italy.

Some of India's states that show a clear resurgence in February-March include Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Those that record an intermittent upward and downward trend include Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. What is notable is that in all these states, there are three to four districts which are new entrants in the list—these are the ones that did not previously feature in the states' list of top 15 districts for high case burden.