The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic appears to have peaked in the four largest cities of the country, with the seven-day average of cases showing a clear decline in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.
However, the seven-day average, calculated till Friday, was still rising in the next four biggest cities of Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. But here, too, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad had started showing signs of a slowdown in transmission, with daily cases dipping in the past two days, including Saturday, although the trend would have to sustain for the next few days for the seven-day average to start dropping.
The larger picture emerging from the Covid data of these eight cities is that the biggest urban centres were now contributing less and less to the country’s daily infections. With the seven-day average of national cases still rising, the pandemic now appears to be spreading in the smaller cities and the countryside.
However, the seven-day average, calculated till Friday, was still rising in the next four biggest cities of Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. But here, too, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad had started showing signs of a slowdown in transmission, with daily cases dipping in the past two days, including Saturday, although the trend would have to sustain for the next few days for the seven-day average to start dropping.
The larger picture emerging from the Covid data of these eight cities is that the biggest urban centres were now contributing less and less to the country’s daily infections. With the seven-day average of national cases still rising, the pandemic now appears to be spreading in the smaller cities and the countryside.
As per the official figures, Bengaluru appears to have been the worst hit city during the current wave. It has recorded the highest peak and may probably end up logging the highest number of cumulative cases. The city has reported 3 lakh cases since December 16, only behind Delhi’s total of nearly 3.4 lakh. Mumbai was the first city where the pandemic peaked, with the seven-day average rising to 17,465 on January 12 before beginning to fall. Kolkata was next, reporting the lowest peak among the four largest metros of 7,069 on January 13.
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