COVID-19 pandemic in India: Chronological comparison of the regional heterogeneity in the pandemic progression and gaps in mitigation strategies
Abstract The second wave of COVID-19 exerted more catastrophe in India than the first. The progressions of both waves were heterogeneous in the six different regions involving 28 states and 8 union territories. An analysis of the temporal variations in new cases and fatalities in all the states of India was done for both the 1st (30th January 2020 to 31st January 2021) and 2nd wave (1st February 2021 to 29th May 2021), which showed that India accounted for over 16% and 9% of the cases and fatalities of the world respectively. The Southern and Western regions remained the top contributor of cases and fatalities in both waves. The state of Punjab and Maharashtra reported the highest CFR (3.24 and 2.5 respectively) in the country during the 1st wave, and in the second wave, Andaman & Nicobar Islands (2.6), and Punjab (2.25) reported the highest CFR. The states of Goa and Delhi showed the highest CCR and CDR during the 1st wave respectively, whereas Lakshadweep and Goa reported the highest CCR and CDR respectively in the 2nd wave. The study comprehends the severity of the second wave over all the states of the country and highlights the major hotspots regions and some gaps in mitigation strategies.