The India Mix: Viral Variant Meets Rural Backwardness

According to the Indian Express, there are four times more infections in the hinterlands of India than during last September’s high point. They cite the Backward Region Grant Fund districts having almost 4 million infections as of May 5, far more than the 950,000 measured on September 16, 2020, the peak of that wave. While a rough measure, it is indicative of the ominous danger of an infectious disease taking root in large areas without much public health infrastructure at all.