On Thursday (May 13), more than 4000 deaths were reported for the second day in a row from India, while the number of Covid-19 cases remains below 400,000 for a fourth day.
As Covid-19 continues to spread in rural areas, some cases might not be reported due to testing shortages.
Experts are still not sure when the number of Covid-19 cases will reach its peak and more people are concerned about the transmissibility of the variant which is increasing infection rates and spreading across the globe.
Professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan Dr Bhramar Mukherjee said that most models had predicted a peak this week and that the country could be seeing signs of that trend.
Still, the number of new cases each day is large enough to overwhelm hospitals, Dr Bhramar Mukherjee added on Twitter. “The key word is cautious optimism.”
With a population of more than 230 million, the situation in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh is extremely grim as TV pictures show families crying in rural hospitals or staying in wards to take care of the sick.
Many bodies can be seen in the Ganges river, as crematoriums are overcrowded and the lack of wood for funerals.