India, Sept. 24 -- On Tuesday, the tally of Covid-19 cases in India crossed 5.6 million. Maharashtra's tally rose to 1.24 million with a third of the infections reported among rural populations. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have also reported an uptick in cases in rural areas. The states represent a nationwide trend of the pandemic shifting to the rural areas where health systems are weak and human resources are stretched or missing altogether. This leaves the sick with no option but to seek treatment in cities, where the strain on the health care system is beginning to show. Testing is still concentrated in urban and peri-urban areas. Testing in rural areas remains below the national average of 46,440 tests per million, which may lead to undetected and asymptomatic spread in the young, mobile rural demographic, and, in turn, bring the infection back to cities....