India’s second Covid-19 wave continues to spread fast, crossing the grim benchmark of 2 lakh daily infections in the week April 12-18. With numbers sustaining north of 2 lakh, the country now has the unenviable distinction of having the highest number of daily cases in the world, surpassing Brazil.

Among the states, though, the rate of spread has not been secular. Infection rates in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi significantly increased in the week ending April 18 (compared with the week prior) and, consequently, led to an increase in their share of case load. In contrast, the rate of increase in cases in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra slowed down, so their shares decreased.

Of concern is also the stuttering pace of Covid-19 vaccinations. The number of people vaccinated per million daily as of April 18 was lower compared with that in the week prior.

Further, more states are beginning to impose localised restrictions on people movement and commerce to control the spread, falling just short of a complete lockdown. But so far, electricity consumption and Goods and Services Tax (GST) e-way bills collection, which are used as proxies to track economic activity, have softened only somewhat. Given the volatile nature and revisions of daily/weekly data, it needs to be seen whether the softening in these indicators is a blip, or marks a shift in a trend.