Second coming

The new wave of Covid-19 cases was caused more by a relaxed approach to Covid-appropriate behaviour and inadequate policy measures than mutant virus strains

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

In January, the Union government told the Rajya Sabha that the pandemic was on the decline in the country. But, by the second week of March, the scenario changed and has continued to get worse. On April 5, India recorded more than one lakh fresh Covid-19 cases, its highest one-day spike ever.

Despite the emergence of mutant strains, experts say the surge is mainly because of crowded gatherings and events, free movement of people post unlocking and a lack of Covid-appropriate behaviour.

As the second wave grips the country, Maharashtra has been worst affected, so far. It recorded an unprecedented five lakh plus cases in less than a month. The 57,000 plus cases it recorded on April 4 was an all-time high 24-hour spike; the state’s caseload stood at over 30 lakh. Mumbai, which accounted for around 4.5 lakh of the cases, also hit an all-time high 24-hour spike (11,163) on April 4. To tackle the surge, the state government announced a night curfew and weekend lockdown till April 30.

The spike in cases first became evident in February in western Maharashtra’s Pune and Satara districts and Vidarbha’s Yavatmal and Amravati districts. It subsequently led to the imposition of lockdowns and stringent restrictions. The rural areas of Amravati reported a higher number of cases than the urban areas, continuously for a week. This is consistent with the emerging trend of infections in the second wave.