The COVID-19 numbers in India over the last two weeks suggest that the second wave of the pandemic may already have reached a peak, or will peak in the coming few days. However, the end of the second wave may still be far away.

After reaching 4.14 lakh daily cases last Thursday, the numbers declined significantly in the last one week. The seven-day average of the case numbers, which adjusts for daily fluctuations, has started to show a decline for the first time during the second wave. The seven-day average was at a high of 3.91 lakh on May 8, and started to drop after that. On Wednesday, the average had come down to 3.75 lakh.

An end of the second wave seems to be far away. It took five months for the cases to come down from 98,000 in a single day during the first wave, to about 10,000 a day. In this wave, the country would be starting at a much higher peak and hence, the downward journey could be longer… (The Indian Express, May 14, 2021)