Data drive: Coronavirus infection growth still high

The growth of infections has been just 2.6% in August.

While the growth of coronavirus infections has been coming down since the government announced Unlock 1, the base has increased drastically. This is also the reason that India on Friday recorded a high of 76,500 daily infections. The growth of infections has been just 2.6% in August, as against 3.5% in the previous month, but India has doubled its tally since August 1. More important, states like Uttar Pradesh and Andhra, where growth was muted until now, seem to be recording more infections.

With sero surveys indicating that only a fraction of population has been infected in cities, India has a long way before it can return to the normal. The worrying aspect that trends indicate is the growth in deaths. While it has come down since last month, the rates are still too high, at 2%. Here, too, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab are recording over 4% daily growth. With the government planning to ease restrictions, it will need to work hard to enforce social distancing norms.