India Coronavirus Dispatch: Too soon to declare third wave, say experts

Centre asks states to consider local curbs, only Bihar & Karnataka acknowledge rise in all-cause deaths during April-May, and other stories from around the country on the fight against the pandemic

Nearly 43,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 42,982 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to 3.18 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 533 more deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 426,290. The active caseload is at 411,076, while the total recoveries have surged to 30.9 million. As many as 489 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 3.7 million were given on Wednesday. Read more

Rise in cases, R number in some states worrying, but too soon to declare third wave: scientists

Experts say the rise in fresh cases and the R value in many states are worrying but people should not panic, PTI reported. The R value is a key measure of how quickly the virus is spreading. In simple terms, it is the average number of people who become infected by an infected individual. The experts stressed that it is too early to declare the beginning of a new wave. In fact, it could be that the second wave is not over, said several scientists who have been closely monitoring India’s Covid graph and have noted the surge in a few pockets. Read more

Poor contact-tracing, containment behind Kerala surge: Central team

According to a team sent to Kerala by the Centre, the main reasons behind the current surge of Covid cases in Kerala are poor contact tracing, lack of adequate containment measures and less than effective monitoring of home isolation patients, a report in ThePrint said. The report noted that less than two contacts are being traced in the state as opposed to a recommended 20. It further noted that while every death in the state is being audited, there is a lag in reporting as they are attributed to Covid only after the audit exercise has been completed. Read more

Consider local curbs during upcoming festivals: Centre to states

The central government has advised the states to actively consider imposing local curbs for upcoming festivals like Muharram, Onam, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja, PTI reported. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have expressed concern regarding the potential of festival-driven mass gatherings turning into super spreaders, the report said. Read more

Only Bihar, K'taka acknowledge rise in all-cause deaths during April-May

For eight states, the cumulative all-cause deaths during April and May 2021 was 1.87 times the April-May 2019 all-cause deaths, a report in The Indian Express said. The eight states are Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Jharkhand. of these, only Bihar and Karnataka seem to have acknowledged this unusual rise. Factoring in their official Covid death toll for these two months in 2021, their multiplier works out to 2.03 times in Bihar and 1.37 times in Karnataka. Both states have decided to widen the definition of Covid deaths, especially for purposes of providing ex gratia to affected families, the report said. Read more