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Chandigarh logs 300+ Covid cases after 6 months
The health department issued an advisory, claiming that the present wave is more infectious and virulent and could send more people to hospitals with moderate to severe disease
For the first time since the first wave in September last year, the number of daily Covid-19 cases crossed the 300 mark in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Noting the surge, wherein more than 250 cases are being reported daily for the past 10 days, the health department issued an advisory on Saturday, claiming that the present wave is more infectious and virulent and could send more people to hospitals with moderate to severe disease.
The UT had touched the peak of 449 cases on September 13, while more than 300 cases were last reported on September 16. The same day the number of active cases had reached 3,171, the highest so far. With 310 people testing positive on Saturday, the number now stands at 3,162, just nine below the peak.
However, during the first wave, the average positivity rate in September had shot up to 16%, which remained around 9% in March. Still, concern remains over the weekly positivity rate of 13%, which places Chandigarh among top three states and UTs.
Meanwhile, the number of total cases has reached 27,853. While 24,309 patients have recovered, 382 have died, including a 74-year-old man from Sector 40 who was the lone fatality reported on Saturday.
Even as cases are rising at a fast pace, only 28 deaths have been reported since March 1. In September last year, 106 deaths were reported. However, the impact of the heavy case load in September was seen over the next four months, as even though the number of cases were on a downward trend, fatalities kept going up till December.
“The effect of the present surge will start to be seen in terms of fatalities in the next two weeks, and that is why immediate control measures should be taken,” said Dr Rajesh Kumar, former head of community medicine at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.
In its advisory, the health department has urged people to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, wear masks, maintain appropriate social distance, avoid crowding and wash their hands regularly.
“For your own safety, get vaccinated. This will protect you from severe illness,” stated the release.
Mohali clocks 360, P’kula 82 cases
Mohali district continues to report bulk of the cases in the tricity, with 360 people testing positive on Saturday. Panchkula reported a drop to 82 cases, which took the tricity’s total to 752, a day after 889 cases, the highest since the outbreak, had surfaced.
At 3,529, Mohali has the highest number of active cases in the tricity, and Panchkula has the lowest with 1,033 people undergoing treatment. The numbers are among the highest in their respective states.
Mohali’s total has reached 27,881, of which 23,910 patients have recovered and 442 have died, including two reported on Saturday. In Panchkula, 13,453 people have tested positive so far, of whom 12,266 have been cured and 154 have succumbed to the virus.
