SBI report: India’s 2nd Covid wave may last up to 100 days

Report from State Bank of India’s research team underlined that duration of the second covid-19 wave in India might last up to 100 days. The report was authored by Chief Economic Adviser of Bank, Soumya Kanti Ghosh.

Highlights

India is currently witnessing a spike in daily coronavirus cases. In past 24 hours it witnessed over 50,000 new infections. Report also highlights that India is better placed this time in controlling the pandemic as vaccinations drive is gaining pace. According to report, Increasing the pace of vaccination is the only way to overcome COVID-19 pandemic. The report also said that, localised lockdowns or restrictions have not resulted in controlling spread of infection. It is visible in case of states like Maharashtra and Punjab. So, it suggests that, Lockdown is ineffective and vaccination is the only cure. Lastly, looking at the number of days from current level of daily new cases to peak level in the first wave, report expects that India will reach the peak in second half of April, 2021.

Background

India is witnessing second wave of infection since February 2021. Daily new cases are rising again. Total cases in second wave are expected in the order of 25 lakhs. On 24-25 March, 53,476 new coronavirus infections were reported which took nationwide COVID-19 count to 1,17,87,534. Majority of the cases were reported from Maharashtra alone. Active caseload across India registered an increase for 15th day and was recorded at 3,95,192. On the other side, the number of vaccinations in India has crossed 5.3 crores mark.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2021