Chandigarh’s Covid numbers drop second week running

Number of active cases seeing a decline again and high number of recoveries also an encouraging sign, says Arun Kumar Gupta, UT health secretary

The number of Covid-19 cases in the city have dipped for the second week running with positivity rates stabilising after a rise in November.

A man gets tested for Covid at a special camp at the Inter State Bus Terminus in Sector 17, Chandigarh. (HT Photo)

With less infections, the number of active cases gradually dropped too and recoveries were four times more than the fresh cases recorded in a week.

However, though active cases dropped to below 1,000 from 1,150, the rate of fatalities as compared to recoveries and new cases is not declining, health experts say.

“The dip in number of infections is significant even as the testing levels are not seeing any major fluctuation. This could have been possible due to control of the infection spread in the city which is reflected in the decreased positivity rate. The active cases are seeing a decline again and a high number of recoveries is also an encouraging sign,” said Arun Kumar Gupta, UT health secretary.

Testing levels and positivity rates have dropped slightly this week after 10,000 tests last week, the lowest level in over a month when it comes to positivity rates.

“We are trying to maintain this momentum in the testing levels by encouraging the teams involved. The number of tests right after the festivals was ramped up as the requirement was to isolate the infected individuals as early as possible, which probably has helped keep infection numbers low,” said a senior health department official.