Chandigarh, tricity see biggest surge in Covid-19 cases

Chandigarh reported 261 fresh cases, while the tricity, which also comprises of Mohali and Panchkula, recorded 467 infections

Witnessing yet another record surge, Chandigarh reported 261 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the highest 24-hour spike across the tricity, which comprises of Mohali and Panchkula as well. The last biggest surge of 188 was on August 27.

Even the tricity recorded its steepest single-day spike with 467 cases, of which 110 were reported from Mohali and 96 from Panchkula. This is third time in four days that the daily tally has crossed the 400 mark, after it did so for the first time on August 26.

Meanwhile, Chandigarh’s tally is fast moving towards the 4,000 mark. As many as 3,985 people have tested positive in the Union Territory so far, of whom 1,692 are yet to be cured. As no death was reported on Saturday, the toll remains at 45. As many as 41 of these patients had pre-existing diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and heart ailment.

In the past six months of the pandemic in Chandigarh, 73% of the infections have surfaced in August. Since March 18, when the first case was reported, the tally stood at 1,051 till July 31. This month alone, 2,934 people have tested positive. The fresh cases have been reported from across rural and urban pockets of the city. As many as 20% of the cases so far have been confirmed through rapid antigen testing.

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Though 141 patients were discharged on Saturday, the recovery rate stands at 56.8% as compared to the national average of 76.5%.

The daily growth of seven days is averaged at 5.2% for the city, which is among the highest in the country only after Chhattisgarh, while the national average is 2.3%

Similarly, positivity rate, which shows how many people are testing positive in relation to the tests conducted, is 13.6% while the national average is 8.6%. This comes even after testing has been ramped up and on an average 650 tests are being conducted daily. On Saturday, 781 people were tested, the highest so far.