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Chandigarh administration to focus on keeping Covid-related death rate low
During the conference, the Tamil Nadu government had shared positive results when focusing on keeping fatalities down as a strategy to contain the spread of the disease.
Giving priority to prevention of deaths among all other steps being taken for the containment of the coronavirus outbreak, the UT administration has said it will be focusing its resources on high-risk patients including senior citizens and those with comorbidities.
The decision came after the chief secretaries’ tele-conference with the cabinet secretary on Thursday in which senior UT officials also participated.
Confirming the development, UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida said, “As per the directions of the central government, the focus of the administration will be on keeping the death rate low, and preventing any deaths due to Covid-19.”
During the conference, the Tamil Nadu government had shared positive results when focusing on keeping fatalities down as a strategy to contain the spread of the disease.
So far, five fatalities have been reported in the city. Chandigarh reported its first death linked to the virus on May 3 when an 82-year-old woman of Sector 18, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Panchkula, died.
On May 8, the second fatality was reported after a man from Hallomajra tested positive for Covid-19, two days after his death at Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16.
On May 9, a 62-year-old man of Bapu Dham Colony tested positive posthumously at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32.
A three-day-old girl became the fourth fatality linked to the virus. After her birth at the civil hospital in Sector 22, she was reported to be brought dead at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research on May 23. She was found to be Covid positive the next day. Her parents, who are from Dadumajra, had tested negative.
The last fatality from the city was an 80-year-old woman from the containment zone of Sector 30, who was declared brought dead at GMSH-16 and had tested positive on June 2.
In the last week, there has been a spike in cases coming from outside the Bapu Dham containment zone. “Opening of inter-state buses, trains, cars, planes remains a major challenge in restricting new cases. But our policy and timely decisions have successfully kept the figures low and within manageable limits,” said Parida.
When asked whether UT will initiate random testing in the city, Parida said that the administration continued to follow the testing protocols set by Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR). “There is no community transmission of the disease in the city, and ICMR testing protocol is being strictly followed. We have made arrangements for any eventuality. Currently, for 30-odd active cases in Chandigarh, 3,000 beds on standby are adequate by any standards.”
