Rapid shift of virus to India’s hinterland

Rural areas in India started contributing more cases than urban areas five months after the first locally transmitted case of the Covid-19 infection was detected in March, 2020. In the ongoing second wave that started in February, this has taken just two months. Here’s how the infection is impacting the urban and rural areas currently. Urban areas have had a greater share than rural areas in new cases of Covid-19 infection in 9 months out of 15 from March, 2020 to May, 2021. The infection began with urban areas reporting 1.6 times the cases in rural areas in March, 2020. This number increased to 3.1, 2.7, and 2.8 in April, May, and June last year, before it started decreasing. Rural areas, had a greater share than urban areas in new cases only from August. This phase lasted until October last year before both areas reported roughly the same number of cases for three months. In February, when the second wave showed signs of beginning, urban areas again took a lead, only for rural areas to emerge as a bigger source of cases two months later in April.