It has been more than four months since India’s first COVID-19 case was detected in January. However, it took almost 100 days till May 31 to reach the whooping number of two lakhs, out of which the latter one lakh cases were confirmed within a fortnight.
It is not anticipated that the deadly pandemic is not going to stop anytime sooner but will cross the mark of three lakhs within this week itself. As per today (June 12), India stands at 2,97,535 confirmed cases out of which 1,41,842 are active cases as per the Government Official website.
Various scientists have used predictive mathematical models of the progression of COVID-19 that show the possibility for Delhi to have 5.5 lakh cases by the end of July, and the community transmission of the disease might have started a while ago. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said on Tuesday that the number of COVID-19 cases could surge to 5.5 lakh by July 31 in the national capital itself at the current rate, and he may require 80,000 beds by then.
Professor Samit Bhattacharya, who is also a researcher in mathematics at the School of Natural Sciences at Shiv Nadar University has said, “The model that I used for India found that there could be around 8-10 lakh cases in India by mid or end of July. So, it won’t be surprising to get to those figures (5.5 lakh) in Delhi.”
As per government estimates, the rate is likely to go up by 1.5 lakhs by July 15 and can touch 5.5 by July 31, which on the other hand has been opined differently by public health experts, who have said that the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases may see a fall as the base will go larger.
Along with the national capital, the number can see a steep rise across the nation. The states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, that have been worst affected and have recorded high casualty, will experience an increase in numbers along the same time.