Urban hot spots drive surge, in greater need of jab scale-up

NEW DELHI: The second wave of the coronavirus disease in India is seeing an alarming rise in infections coming from cities, with a majority of daily new Covid-19 cases coming from urban centres, something that was last seen at least 10 months ago, during the first wave of the pandemic.

The numbers, experts say, highlight the need to focus sharply on getting the disease under control by expanding the vaccination drive in urban areas, especially large cities.

Nearly half (48%) of all Covid-19 cases reported in India in March are from urban areas, which are home to just 14% of the population, with cities having the largest proportion of new infections since June 2020, according to an analysis by Hindustan Times. In the first four days of April, a majority (51.9%) of new cases were reported from these urban areas.

The numbers are even more worrying when disaggregated at the city level. For instance, Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur together accounted for 59% of Maharashtra’s cases in the first four days of April.