NEW DELHI: Most of the smaller states and Union Territories recorded a steep rise in Covid-19 cases during the one-month Unlock 1.0 period in June.
These states, including in the Northeast, Goa, Puducherry and a few others, had very few cases when Unlock-1.0 kicked in on June 1. But the number went up more than 10 times by the end of the month.
A closer look at the data on the spread of Covid-19 cases across the country shows that many smaller states had cases in the range of 5-100. Mizoram and Sikkim had just one confirmed Covid-19 case each on June 1 when Unlock-1 unfolded.
But, the number of confirmed cases went up to 160 in Mizoram and 88 in Sikkim by June 30. Similarly, Nagaland had 43 cases on June 1, but the figure crossed the 450-mark by the end of Unlock-1.0, recording a rise of more than 10 times.
Manipur also observed a similar trend with cases rising from 83 to 1,227 in one month. With the number rising, Manipur has now been placed under strict lockdown till July 15.
Tripura topped the smaller states with nearly 1,400 cases on June 30. But, the state has not recorded as steep a jump as other Northeast states: it had 423 cases on June 1, which rose to 1,393 on June 30.
Arunachal Pradesh was among the states that successfully managed to control the rise as the cases increased from 22 to 191 during the one-month span.
The Northeast states are among the ones with the lowest fatalities in the country: among them, they have recorded only three Covid-19 deaths so far, one each in Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
A spurt in positive cases last month has forced many N-E states to extend the lockdown. While some have extended it till July-end, the others have gone in for 14 days. These states include Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Tourist destination Goa is also among the smaller states recording a substantial rise in cases; the figure rose by nearly 15 times from 73 to 1,315 over the one-month span. Goa has re-opened for domestic tourism and hotels have been told to take bookings with certain precautions spelt out by local authorities.
Epidemiologist Jammi N Rao, who has experience in working with the Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, and in the UK National Health Service, said the steep rise in cases in smaller states indicates that the lockdown was not properly enforced.
“The incubation period of Covid-19 is 14-28 days. If there are more cases in June, then it is because in the preceding days the lockdown did not work. That would mean there was movement of people and the disease spread. As Unlock-1.0 unfolded in June with many activities such as shops being reopened, the disease began to spread at a time when testing, tracking and isolation were not vigorously taken up,” said Rao.