Delhi has reported the highest percentage of Covid-19 related deaths in May. The case fatality ratio (CFR) during the first three weeks of the month until May 22 stands at 2.58%. As of Saturday, the state has reported 2,65,886 cases and 6,866 have lost their lives to Covid-19 related complications.
It has to be noted that the CFR in May is more than double the fatality rate in the previous three weeks. Delhi’s overall CFR is 1.63% that makes May 2021 the deadliest month for the National Capital. Notably, the national CFR has also increased in May and stands at 1.17%, which is significantly higher than the previous three weeks from April 10 to April 30.
In May, India has reported 87,460 deaths so far. Compared to the previous three weeks, it is a 92% rise as there were 43,258 deaths between April 10 and April 30. The cases during that period also saw an increase of around 20%. Between April 10 to April 30, around 59.5 lakh cases were reported in India, while till May 22, India has already reported 7368650 cases.
Punjab and Uttarakhand, following Delhi’s lead
Punjab is standing at the second position in terms of the fatality rate with 2.46%. During the previous three weeks, the death rate stood at 1.56% in Punjab.
Uttarakhand has recorded the third highest CFR till May 22 that stands at 2.34%. In the previous three weeks, the death rate was 1.18%. The overall death rate of Uttarakhand stands at 1.85%. After Uttarakhand, Jharkhand has reported 2.24%, Goa stands at 2.17%, and Maharashtra reported a 1.85% death rate.
Though the state of Maharashtra has reported the highest number of deaths in May at 17,779 deaths till Saturday, due to its higher positive ratio, the CFR is lower than other states. Maharashtra had reported a CFR of 0.87% on April 10-30 period. The overall CFR of the state is 1.57%. After Maharashtra, the highest number of deaths were reported by Karnataka in May at 9200 fatalities till May 22. However, the CFR of the state stands at 1.04%.
CFR in some smaller contributing states is higher
The CFR rate in states and UTs including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were 3.3%, 2.8%, 2.3% and 2.2% but the total number of deaths were less than 500 in these states since the beginning of the pandemic, making them smaller contributors to the national tally of CFR.
Odisha has the lowest CFR in May
The lowest CFR Rate of states with overall more than 1,000 deaths includes Odisha that last the lowest CFR in May at 0.17%. Kerala, though being hit hard by the second wave, the CFR stands low at 0.23%. Andhra Pradesh is at 0.43%, West Bengal 0.68%, Telangana 0.73%, Bihar 0.84% and Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at 0.92% CFR in May.
Covid-19 in India
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India reported 2,40,897 cases on May 22. 3,55,138 people recovered, and 3,739 patients lost their lives to Covid-19 related complications. The fatality rate is considerably higher though the number of cases reported per day and recovery rate is higher than before. Experts suggest that there is a lag of two weeks that is normally seen between trends in death compared to the number of cases. Thus, it may take another two weeks for the national fatality rate to come down.