‘Ending in February 2021’: Expert Covid committee’s ‘supermodel’ flounders as second wave surges ‘Ending in February 2021’: Expert Covid committee’s ‘supermodel’ flounders as second wave surges An excerpt from ‘Billions Under Lockdown: The Inside Story of India’s Fight Against Covid-19’, by Abantika Ghosh Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP On 16 September, India reported 97,894 new cases – 11,36,613 tests were done that day, which meant the positivity rate was still a relatively high 8.6 per cent. On 17 September, the country had 10,17,754 active COVID-19 cases – the highest ever. The numbers seemed to be on an exponential growth curve – and then suddenly, without any explanation, the daily COVID-19 tally pulled back from the brink of a lakh, much to the disbelief of many people.