India’s coronavirus death cases climb again above 4,000 and the infection is spreading to the countryside

ILLUSTRATION. Volunteers carry the body of a person who died of corona virus infection (COVID-19) in Bengaluru, India,

Source: Reuters | Editor: Yudho Winarto

KONTAN.CO.ID – MUMBAI. The Covid-19 outbreak that hit India is claimed to have stabilized in several parts of the country. However, the number of deaths from the Corona virus has increased by 4,194 and the infection is spreading to rural areas where public health services are scarce and overloaded.

India reported more than 400,000 infections a day in early May but the number is slowly dwindling. On Saturday (22/5), government data showed 257,299 new cases.

Health ministry official Lav Agarwal said active cases in the richest states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, home to the technology hub of Bengaluru, and the coastal state of Kerala have fallen in the past two weeks.

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Lav Agarwal added that daily numbers in states including West Bengal and the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were on the rise.

With hospitals overflowing, health systems in cities overwhelmed and a shortage of vaccines, experts warn India could face a third wave of infections in the coming months.

“Although (the spread of the Coronavirus) has stabilized in many parts of the country and the overall burden has reduced, we still have a long way to go with this wave,” Dr. VK Paul, part of the federal government panel on Covid-19 management.

“For the first time, we are seeing rural areas hit by this pandemic.”

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