India has seen a fall in the number of new daily cases of Covid-19 since October 7, indicating that the first wave of the coronavirus disease are showing signs of receding in the country.
The health ministry on Sunday said that five states which have contributed to the highest number of cases are also contributing to the maximum number of recoveries. More than 60 lakh people have recovered from coronavirus until Sunday, it said.
India experienced a spike in cases in September and was recording more than 90,000 cases between September 6 and September 20. The number of fresh cases started dropping from September 21 onwards and India has seen a decline in the number of daily cases since.
The country took 13 days to reach seven million cases from six million mark. Most of these cases were reported from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Barring Kerala and Karnataka, all the other states have seen their caseloads reaching their peaks.
However, experts say that the festival season which is a week away from now has the potential to elevate the number of cases ahead of the winter season. The health ministry has issued a set of standard operating procedures to ensure that social distancing is maintained during the festivities.
Doctors fear that if the number of cases rise after the festive season, as seen in Kerala after Onam, the gains made in the weeks leading up to the festivities could be lost.
“We have to work aggressively to make sure that during winter months and during the festive season coronavirus cases don’t rise dramatically,” AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria told the Associated Press.
The health ministry has asked community leaders responsible for organising the festivities to adhere to the Standar Operating Procedures (SOPs) and make adequate arrangements for masks, hand sanitisers and infrared thermometres at festival venues during Navratri, Durga Puja and Diwali.
