Even as India is racing ahead with its vaccination drive against the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a new, worrying development.
Several states are reporting a slow, yet steady rise in the number of daily COVID-19 infections.
On 2nd February, India had recorded 8,635 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the lowest single-day rise since May 2020.
On Tuesday, February 23, India reported 10,584 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours taking the total so far to 1,10,16,434 and active cases to 1,47,306.
Maharashtra, Kerala see steady rise in daily COVID infections
Maharashtra, which continues to the worst affected has seen the highest number of new infections in the past 24 hours – 5,210, followed by the second-worst affected, Kerala – 2212.
Cases have been on the rise in Maharashtra for nearly two weeks now and that is ringing some alarm bells.
But it is not just Maharashtra that is seeing a spike.
16 other states also witness rise
In fact, 16 states have seen an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in one week, out of which eight including Maharashtra and Kerala are concerning.
While Maharashtra posted a surge of 81% over the previous week, MP recorded a 43% rise, Punjab 31%, J&K 22%, Chhattisgarh 13% and Haryana 11%.
There is also increasing concern over a new, mutant, local strain of the virus.
