Covid-19 crisis: Tally crosses 3 million; share of top 10 districts falling

While Mumbai and Delhi still figure in the top three cities in the number of cases, the total share of the top 10 districts has dropped from around 60% to around 33.5%

The prevalence of Covid-19 cases in the country is becoming less concentrated, indicating that the cases are increasingly spreading beyond the urban pockets, which first saw a large spike. This may pose a challenge as rural healthcare infrastructure is less developed than in urban areas.

The number of cases, meanwhile, has shot past three million. While Mumbai and Delhi still figure in the top three cities in the number of cases, the total share of the top 10 districts has dropped from around 60 per cent to around 33.5 per cent (chart 1). 

The average daily growth rate has been declining from double-digit numbers and is now hovering around the two-per cent mark (chart 2). This still means that an ever growing number of daily cases is being added because of a larger base. The daily increase in deaths has shown a similar trajectory of decline. 
 

A seven-day rolling average daily growth rate has been used to smoothen out any volatility in reporting numbers. The larger base means that even a small rise results in significant death figures. In the last few days, there have been 900-1,000 deaths every day (chart 3).