Daily Covid cases up by 50% since Feb 14, but death rate falls sharply

There’s some good news amid the worrying resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in several states of the country. While daily cases in India have risen by over 50% since February 14, the death rate has dropped sharply with the case fatality rate (CFR) during this period less than half of the CFR in India since the start of the pandemic.

CFR, or the death rate, is the percentage of patients who have died out of the total infected with the virus. The CFR from February 14 (when infections began to rise in the country) to March 9 was 0.65%. In comparison, the overall CFR from Covid-19 infections in India is 1.4%. The CFR since February 14 is also lower than the rate seen in recent months. In January, for instance, India recorded a Covid-19 death rate of 1.16%.

In keeping with the trend worldwide, the Covid-19 CFR has been gradually decreasing in India since before the pandemic hit its peak in mid-September. Daily deaths have increased since the resurgence of the virus but the rise in cases has outstripped the uptick in fatalities. The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths is currently at 101, up from a low of 89 on February 11. This translates to a growth of around 13%, as compared with an over 50% rise in cases.
On Tuesday, India recorded 17,879 fresh cases of the coronavirus and 133 deaths. The day's death toll was the highest since February 24, with Punjab reporting a big surge in fatalities. The state reported 20 deaths from the virus on Tuesday. Maharashtra continued to record the highest fatalities at 56, while Kerala reported 16 deaths.

The surge in cases continued as the day's fresh infections were way higher than those reported last Tuesday (15,002). As a result, the seven-day rolling average of daily cases rose to 17,600. The average has risen uninterruptedly since February 14. Maharashtra reported the highest count of fresh cases at 9,927, followed by Kerala (2,316) and Punjab (1,036).