The third leg of the lockdown that ended on Sunday did little to rein in the spread of the novel coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh, but instead proved to be deadliest of the three phases.
According to data sourced from the AB Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis in Bhopal, the daily average of the number of cases reported stood at 153 during the third phase that lasted for two weeks from May 4 to May 17. In the first phase, this average stood at 35 and in the second, at 110.
The virus seemed to spread unhindered in the state as 732 cases were reported in the phase one, 2,096 in phase two and 2,140 in the third one. The corresponding mortality rates were 53, 103 and 92, the third phase having recorded a slight dip.
The major cities contributing the state's tally – Indore, Bhopal and Ujjain – were still labelled Red Zones after the completion of phase 3. The state's commercial capital of Indore accounted for 50% of the cases, while Bhopal reported 20% of the state's cases and Ujjain, 7%.
In a concerning development, Jabalpur, Burhanpur and Kahgone also reported a sizebale number of cases. Moreover, the total area under the grip of the virus widened as lockdown 3.0 concluded with cases in 45 districts and only seven Green Zones.
Providing some respite, data from the Bhopal-based institute indicated that there has been a steady surge in the recovery rate of patients. In the phase concluded Sunday, the state's COVID-19 recovery rate stood at 75% with 1,605 patients, after recording at 8.74% (with 64 patients) in the first and 35.02% (with 734 patients) in the second phase.
As the third phase came to an end on Sunday, Madhya Pradesh remained the sixth worst-affected state in the country.
On Monday, the total number of cases in the state were 5,331, with 101 fatalities and 1,174 discharges.
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