Chandigarh at tipping point of second Covid wave

The Chandigarh health authorities have said that the city is on the tipping point of a second Covid-19 wave as infections continued to rise for the fourth consecutive week and the number of fresh cases reached 148 on Monday, highest in almost five months

The Chandigarh health authorities have said that the city is on the tipping point of a second Covid-19 wave as infections continued to rise for the fourth consecutive week and the number of fresh cases reached 148 on Monday, highest in almost five months.

As many as 148 fresh cases were reported in Chandigarh on Monday, highest in almost five months. (HT File Photo)

In the week that ended on March 14, the city reported 778 cases, 42% jump from the preceding week. However, the number of tests saw a marginal dip, one of the reasons for the high weekly positivity rate, which went up from 4.5% to 6.4%.

“The infection numbers being reported in this surge are around a fourth of what were reported in the first wave that occurred in September. To suggest this is the second wave, we have to wait for some more time to see where the trajectory goes. The daily infection numbers should at least be half of what we saw in September,” said Dr Amandeep Kang, director, UT health department.

In September last year, single-day Covid-19 cases peaked at 449 while the active case load reached 3,171. In comparison, Chandigarh has been reporting 120-150 cases in a day, while the number of active cases stand at 1,166. In November, too, active cases had gone up to 1,190 after the festival season, but there was a steady downfall thereafter.

Amid dip in tests, weekly positivity rate has bumped up from 4.5% to 6.4%.

Hereon, the adherence to Covid-19 protocol and enforcement of restrictions will determine the course of this surge, said Dr Kang.

“The impact of not following Covid appropriate behaviour is witnessed after four to six weeks. So, the rise in cases that started in February was due to not adhering to the protocols in December and January,” said Dr GD Puri, chairman of Covid-19 management committee at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. “We had warned of a new surge back in early February, as we had more than 100 patients with severe condition from across the region admitted in Covid-19 wards. The numbers are expected to rise further.”

Meanwhile, the total number of cases has reached 23,244. While 21,720 patients have recovered, 358 have died so far. Amid the surge, the health department is set to start testing in educational institutes, starting with Post Graduate Government College in Sector 11.