An analysis by HT has shown that India’s villages have outdone the big cities now in reporting the surge in new COVID-19 cases in the current wave.

While urban districts are still reporting a higher volume of cases compared to rural areas, daily case numbers are declining, but they continue to increase in rural districts. The HT analysis is based on district-level data provided by ‘How India Lives’ compiled up to January 21. Delhi and Mumbai have reported their seven-day average of fresh cases decrease since January 16 and January 13, respectively. Cases are also declining fast in Chennai and Kolkata.

The seven-day average for the country is increasing but the rate of growth is much lower now. According to the analysis, in the entirely urban districts, the seven-day average of cases has decreased during the past week, coming down from 74,651 on January 15 to 70,142 on January 21. In all other types of districts, the cases are still showing a rise, with the growth being higher in districts that are more rural. The growth rate of the seven-day average on January 21 was reported to be 4.5% in largely urban districts (where 20%-40% population is rural), 4.4% in mixed districts (where 40%-60% population is rural), 6.7% in largely rural districts (where 60%-80% population is rural), and 6.9% in entirely rural districts (where more than 80% population is rural)… (HT, January 25, 2022)