NEW DELHI: With over 7,300 new COVID-19 cases in a day on Friday—the biggest single-day jump—a study of select countries after they recorded 1 lakh confirmed cases shows the average daily growth rate of new cases thereafter is much higher in India than in Iran, France, Spain and Germany, but slower than in Russia, Brazil and the US.
India recorded 1,00,328 cases on May 18. In 10 days, it added more than 65,000 new cases to reach 1,65,799 on May 28, recording an average daily growth rate of 6.5%.
In contrast, in Iran, France, Spain and Germany, countries which have also been badly hit by the pandemic, the growth of confirmed COVID-19 cases after they also recorded 1 lakh cases was much slower.
Take for instance Germany. It had 1 lakh confirmed cases on April 5. On May 28, or 53 days later, it had added 82,000 new cases, a growth rate of 1.54 per cent daily.
Likewise, France which touched 1 lakh cases on April 8 had 1.86 lakh cases 50 days later, on May 28. The average growth rate stood at 1.72%.
COVID cases in Spain and Italy also followed a similar growth trajectory. In Spain, which reported 1 lakh cases on April 1, there were 2.84 lakh cases 57 days later on May 28.
The average growth rate was 3.17%. As for Italy, which hit the grim milestone on March 30, the total cases stood at 2.31 lakh 59 days later on May 28. Its average growth rate was 2.22%.
But Russia, Brazil and the US, fared much worse than India.
The average daily growth rate of cases in the US since hitting 1 lakh cases on March 27 was 29.5%; Brazil’s grew by 13.25% and Russia by 10.25%.
India’s jump in cases coincides with the easing of lockdown, opening markets, plying migrant trains and learning to live with the new normal.
