18.8k new cases; sharp Covid spike in south

South India has seen a sharp rise in cases over the past few days. The five southern states, along with UT Puducherry, together accounted for 6,985 new cases on Monday, 37% of the day’s total. On Sunday, the number was 7,150, 36.2% of the total (19,741). By contrast, the share of the south in India’s daily Covid-19 count on the first two days of June was below 22%.