BENGALURU: As the Centre contemplates extension of the lockdown, this statistic may also be among things it is considering: The number of new districts reporting Covid-19 cases has been increasing significantly in India, with about 15 new districts reporting positive cases each day in the past five days, according to the latest data from the ministry of health and family welfare ( MoHFW ).When MoHFW released the previous district-wise data on April 3, about 211 districts (30%) of the 720 in India, had reported Covid-19 cases. Together they had nearly 2,000 cases even as the total number of cases in the country hovered around 2,500 at that time.The latest data from April 7 shows that in just five days, 73 new districts have reported positive cases, taking the total to 284 or 40% of the total number of districts. These 284 districts account for more than 4,000 cases, while the total number of cases in India crossed 5,000 on Tuesday.Experts TOI spoke with said that the continuing spread in cases would test the existing healthcare infrastructure as many districts in the country are not equipped with good infrastructure like in cities or big towns.“In most districts people will have to depend on the district-level hospitals for such specialised treatment, which means that they have to travel many kilometres. This would also burden these hospitals which are the main access points for most people every day. Now, some others may get ignored,” one doctor said.Doctors Sylvia Karpagam and Vasu, in an analysis they’ve done on behalf of Naavu Bengaluru, a not-for-profit, say that the decision to convert large tertiary public hospitals to Covid-19 centres is poorly planned.A state-wise analysis shows that 20 states/UTs in the country have reported an increase in the number of their affected districts, while those like Kerala and Delhi, which were already 100% covered and other smaller states have unchanged numbers.Among states with more than 20 districts TOI analysed last week, eleven had more than 20% of their districts affected. Tamil Nadu had reported cases from 62% of its 37 districts, Maharashtra from 52% of its 36 districts and Karnataka from 47% of its 30 districts, while Haryana (41%), Jammu and Kashmir ((45%) had over 40% of their districts affected, Gujarat (30%), Punjab (32%), Telangana (36%) and West Bengal (39%) had more than 30%.As of April 7, Tamil Nadu has 73% of its districts affected, while the numbers for Maharashtra and Karnataka stand at 55% and 57%, respectively.Fifty-five per cent of Haryana’s districts are now Covid-hit, while it is 50% in J&K, 39% in Gujarat, 41% in Punjab, 70% in Telangana and 48% in West Bengal.Several other states like Uttar Pradesh, which now has 36% (earlier 21%) of its districts affected, or Rajasthan with 55% (earlier 33%) too saw an increase.“It was not based on discussions with public hospital authorities, but rather individuals who are part of the corporate health ecosystem. For patients from across the state, these are the only tertiary care centres and they now have no other option but to avoid seeking healthcare or approaching the expensive private tertiary facilities,” Karpagam and Vasu have said.