Second Wave Of Coronavirus Could Peak In April-May: SBI Report
Mumbai: At a time when the country has been witnessing an increase in new cases of coronavirus since February, a report by the State Bank of India (SBI) said on Thursday that the second wave of coronavirus could run for 100 days from February 15.
This SBI research report analyzes the second wave of infection across the country that began in the month of February and is expected to reach its peak in the second half of April 2021.
The report is titled, ‘The second wave of transition: the beginning of the end?’ Dr Ghosh mentions, ‘Although the experience of the global COVID-19 shows the second wave to be much higher in intensity than the first wave, the presence of the vaccine makes a difference in the current scenario and India will be able to manage the situation better.
SBI’s 28-page report said localized lockout or restrictions have been ‘ineffective’ and mass vaccination is the only hope to win the fight against the pandemic.
The largest vaccination campaign in India started on 16 January 2021 and till 24 March, India has vaccinated 5.31 crore people. States such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Haryana have already vaccinated more than 20% of their elderly population.
This concern is in states like Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal, where the vaccination process is quite slow and needs to pick up the pace.
The report mentions, ‘If daily, India is able to vaccinate around 40-45 lakh people, then the population over 45 years can be vaccinated in 4 months from now.
According to the Health Ministry data, over 23 lakh doses were administered in the last 24 hours.
Considering the economic indicators, the SBI report said that the business activity index based on the high-frequency indicator declined last week. The report also said that the effect of the lockdown or sanctions imposed by some states could be visible next month.
Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 31,855 (59.57 per cent). It is followed by Punjab with 2,613 while Kerala reported 2,456 new cases, the ministry said.
Ten states including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.
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