Karnataka's doubling rate of infections worst in south India

Karnataka has the worst doubling rate in south India even as confirmed cases of Covid-19 registered a two-fold growth at a slower rate during the lockdown, compared with the period when there were no restrictions.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases were doubling in Karnataka every 9.2 days, which was still lower than the national average of 7.5 days as on Sunday, a senior health ministry official said.

Nationwide, Gujarat with a doubling rate of 3.7 days was the worst-affected state based on this parameter. The doubling rate was 5.3 days in Madhya Pradesh, 5.5 days in Uttar Pradesh and 6.7 days in Maharashtra.

Kerala was the best with a doubling rate of 72.2 days, indicative of the successful steps it had taken to arrest the spread of Covid-19.

The doubling rate in Telangana was a tad slower than Karnataka at 9.4 days, followed by Andhra Pradesh (10.6 days) and Tamil Nadu (14 days).

“India’s Covid-19 doubling rate has improved to 7.5 days from 3.4 days before the lockdown,” Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, said at the daily briefing.

In Goa, all the seven persons infected with Covid-19 have recovered and discharged from hospitals, he said adding that there were no active cases in the coastal state. While the Centre attributed the slowing of the doubling rate to the lockdown, the real challenge would be on ensuring that the disease does not spread once the restrictions are eased after May 3.

Aggarwal said the country recorded 1,553 additional cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 17,265 total cases, including 543 deaths. Thirty six more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

On the bright side, he said 2,546 people have been cured, so far, which translates to a recovery rate of 14.75%. Fifty nine districts have not reported any new cases in the last 14 days.