Relief and hope: First time in six weeks, Covid deaths under 3,000

The average death count has been showing a steady decline after reaching a peak of nearly 4,200 on May 21. On Saturday, this average came down to 2,970.



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Amidst the rapidly improving coronavirus situation, the 7-day average of death numbers has come down below 3,000 for the first time in six weeks.

The average death count has been showing a steady decline after reaching a peak of nearly 4,200 on May 21. On Saturday, this average came down to 2,970.

There is usually a two-to-three-week lag between the trajectory of new cases and deaths. The daily case count had peaked on May 6 at 4.14 lakh, after which the numbers have been coming down steadily.

On Saturday, 1.14 lakh cases were discovered, that was the lowest in the last two months.

Only six states — Maharashtra , Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal — are now reporting more than 100 deaths in a day. These states together account for more than two-thirds of all the deaths in the country right now.

Six states have 100-plus deaths

ONLY SIX — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal — are reporting more than 100 deaths a day.

Two weeks ago, 12 to 13 states, including even smaller ones like Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, were reporting more than 100 deaths in a day.

Maharashtra, whose death toll is more than a lakh now including the ones that the state classifies as those caused by co-morbid conditions, is still contributing over 700 deaths a day. Nearly half of these are at least two weeks old.

Similarly, a substantial proportion of deaths being reported by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — both are reporting over 300 deaths a day — are several weeks old.

There has been a big jump in death numbers in Kerala in the last one month. For the last 18 days, the state has consistently been reporting more than 100 deaths a day. On two occasions, the death count has gone past 200 as well.

In these last 18 days, the state has reported over 3,100 deaths. The total death toll in the state is now more than 9,700. There are 10 states that have a higher death toll.

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