India Reported 66 Lakh Covid Cases In April Amid Second Wave

India reported more than 66 lakh coronavirus cases in April, making it the worst month of the pandemic ever. Last year, it had taken six months for the caseload to increase by 66 lakh.

With a record number of over 3.86 lakh new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally has risen to 1,87,67,962 -- from 1,21,49,335 at the end of March 2021.

Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have emerged as the states of concern in the last four weeks, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said.

Sharing data, he said from February 4-17, 46 per cent of the cases came from Kerala, 25.6 per cent from Maharashtra and 4.2 per cent from Tamil Nadu. The remaining 24.4 per cent cases came from the rest of the country.

From February 18-March 3, Maharashtra contributed over 48.5 per cent of the total cases, Kerala 25.9 per cent and Punjab 3.3 per cent, while the rest of the country accounted for 22.3 per cent cases.

From March 4-17, Maharashtra contributed 59.5 per cent of the total cases, followed by Kerala (10 per cent) and Punjab (3.3 per cent). The other states accounted for 24.6 per cent of the cases.

From March 18-31, Maharashtra contributed 60 per cent of the cases, followed by Punjab (five per cent) and Karnataka (4.3 per cent). The rest of the country accounted for 30 per cent cases.
From April 1-14, Maharashtra contributed 43.2 per cent cases, followed by Chhattisgarh (7.4 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (6.2 per cent). The rest of the country accounted for 43.1 per cent of the cases during the 14-day period, Mr Agarwal said.

From April 15-28, Maharashtra contributed 21.6 per cent of the cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (10.4 per cent) and Delhi (7.8 per cent). The rest of the country accounted for 60.2 per cent of the cases during the period.

Mr Agarwal said while 1,290 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the country in September last year, the figure dropped to 77 in March.

From February 4-17, Maharashtra contributed 34.3 per cent of the deaths, followed by Kerala (18.2 per cent) and Punjab (6.4 per cent). The rest of the country accounted for 41.1 per cent of the deaths.

From February 18 to March 3, Maharashtra recorded 45.2 per cent of the total deaths in the country, followed by Kerala (14.7 per cent) and Punjab (10.3 per cent). The rest of the country accounted for 29.9 per cent of the deaths.

From March 4-17, Maharashtra contributed 44.6 per cent of the total deaths, followed by Punjab (16.3 per cent) and Kerala (11.5 per cent). The rest of the country accounted for 27.5 pc of the deaths.

From March 18-31, Maharashtra contributed 41.6 pc of the total deaths, followed by Punjab (19.7 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (6.5 per cent) while the rest of the country accounted for 32.1 per cent of the fatalities.

From April 1-14, Maharashtra contributed 42.7 per cent of the total deaths, followed by Chhattisgarh (11 per cent) and Punjab (8.3 per cent) while the rest of the country accounted for 38.1 per cent of the deaths.

From April 15-28, Maharashtra contributed 26.3 per cent of the deaths, followed by Delhi (12.3 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (8.9 per cent), while the rest of the country accounted for 52.5 per cent of the deaths, Mr Agarwal said.