Covid-19 Factoid: Shifting of epicentre to the US, and 3 other data trends

Which country has been the most aggressive in testing for coronavirus, and how does India compare? Which Indian states other than Maharashtra and Kerala are badly hit? Here are 4 important data trends

The number of Covid-19 positive cases globally has crossed the 800,000 mark. The number of cases registered in the US now is more than twice as much as that in China. Spain, which 30 March overtook China to become the third-most-affected country from coronavirus by number of cases, is also nearing the 100,000 mark. The death toll is almost touching the 40,000 mark.

Here are a few data trends that show the present magnitude of the pandemic:

#1. One in every three new cases added is in the USA

The past 10 days have seen the epicentre of the pandemic shifting from Italy to the United States. Between 24 and 30 March, four countries – Italy, the US, Spain, and Germany – have reported the highest number of new daily cases. Within these four countries, the share of new cases in the US has grown, while Italy has shown a downward trend. The US now has twice as many reported cases as China.

#2. Bahrain tops the charts in the number of Covid-19 tests conducted

Bahrain has been the most aggressive country in the world when it comes to testing, with 22,193 tests per million. The total number of positive cases in the country is 515.

India still lags in the tally of tests conducted. However, the number of positive cases among every 100 tests conducted for India is very low. While India reports just two positive cases for every 100 tests, the number for Italy and the US stands at 22 and 16, respectively. Aggressive testing by India began only after 20 March, with 41.5 per cent of all tests conducted occurring between 20 March and 24 March, averaging 1,882 tests per day.

#3. More cases moving to the critical category

There are around 500,000 active Covid-19 cases across the globe, of which more than 30,000 are currently classified as critical. There has been a rise in the rate at which the number of critical cases has grown in the past seven days. The spike is mostly led by Spain, which has around 20 per cent share of these critical cases.

#4. As India crosses 1,000 mark in confirmed cases, here is how Covid-19 has spread across the nation

Kerala and Maharashtra have been alternately taking the top spot when it comes to the total number of cases in India. The period from March 25 to 30 was particularly bad for these states, with their number of cases doubling. With the recent spurt in cases, Delhi has steadily grown to reach the third spot.

Data sourced from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center as on 28th March, 7 PM cutoff time.