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After short downturn, Chandigarh tricity’s Covid cases cross 3,000 mark again
3,185 people test positive in Chandigarh tricity area; as many as 1,502 cases detected in Chandigarh, 1,231 in Mohali and 452 in Panchkula
After receding for two days, tricity’s daily Covid-19 cases once again breached the 3,000 mark on Wednesday, as 3,185 people tested positive.
After hitting the all-time high of 3,907 cases on January 16, the tricity had seen the figure remain below 3,000 over the next two days, with 2,215 and 2,966 cases, respectively.
Chandigarh was the biggest contributor to the spike on Wednesday with 1,502 cases, against 1,275 the day before. Panchkula also saw its daily tally rising from 416 to 452 in the past 24 hours, while Mohali’s infections dipped from 1,275 to 1,231.
The jump in daily cases pushed tricity’s active cases to 20,680, up from 20,535 on Tuesday. At 9,966, Chandigarh has the highest number of infected patients, followed by Mohali with 8,574 and Panchkula with 2,140.
Positivity rate also shoots up again
More number of cases also translated into higher positivity rate across the tricity.
Mohali logged a positivity rate of 27%, higher than 22% a day ago. In Chandigarh, 25.9% samples tested positive, compared to 21.9% on Tuesday, and Panchkula logged an increase from 15% to 19%.
Four more dead in tricity
After a total of seven deaths on Tuesday, Mohali and Chandigarh recorded four more deaths on Wednesday.
The two patients, who died in Chandigarh, were a 78-year-old woman from Sector 23 and a 73-year-old man from Sector 47.
They both succumbed at private hospitals. While the male deceased, who was also a patient of coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes, was fully vaccinated, the woman was not. She was also suffering from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
Mohali’s latest fatalities were a 40-year-old female, who lived in Dera Bassi, and a 72-year-old from Mohali city. They died at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, respectively.
“Both patients were fully vaccinated, but had comorbidities,” said Dr Girish Dogra, nodal officer for Covid-19 in Mohali.
As many as 37 people have succumbed to the virus in the tricity this month following the surge in infections – 20 in Mohali, 14 in Chandigarh and three in Panchkula. In comparison, seven people died in December, including three in Chandigarh, and two each in Panchkula and Mohali.
With this, the death toll in Chandigarh and Mohali has reached 1,094 and 1,093, respectively, far ahead of 384 deaths in Panchkula.
Mohali has recorded 82,652 Covid infections till date, but 72,984 patients in the city have recovered. Chandigarh’s caseload of 81,269 includes 70,210 recoveries.
In Panchkula, 35,548 out of total 38,072 patients have been cured.
44 people on ventilator support in Chandigarh hospitals
More beds are being occupied by Covid-19 patients in government and private hospitals of Chandigarh with the rise in fresh infections.
On Wednesday, as many as 44 patients were on ventilator support. A total 219 ventilator and ICU beds are available in city hospitals, which are seeing admissions of residents of Chandigarh as well as other states. A total of 394 out of the 1,247 oxygenated beds are also occupied.
UT adviser tests positive
UT adviser Dharam Pal tested positive for Coivd-19 on Tuesday, the UT health department confirmed on Wednesday. “The adviser has isolated himself at his residence and his medical condition is stable. He is working and reviewing all Covid-management plans from home,” said UT health secretary Yashpal Garg.
