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Chandigarh sees no new Covid case among foreign returnees
Amid Omicron scare, the Chandigarh health department has not reported any new Covid-19 positive case among international travellers who have returned to the city from high-risk countries in the past 10 days
Amid Omicron scare, the Chandigarh health department has not reported any new Covid-19 positive case among international travellers who have returned to the city from high-risk countries in the past 10 days.
The only positive case is that of a South Africa returnee who resides in Sector 36 and had tested positive along with his wife and domestic help on November 29. Even their symptoms are stated to be mild.
UT health secretary Yashpal Garg said on Saturday that after the central government mandated testing of all people arriving from such countries, over a dozen foreign returnees had arrived in Chandigarh. Of them, only one man has been tested positive for Covid-19, he said.
“All those who were tested negative in Chandigarh after their arrival are under home quarantine while their repeat tests, which are scheduled on the eighth day of their arrival, are due. We are keeping a strict vigil on them and are monitoring their health,” said Garg, adding that the department is adopting every possible measure to control virus transmission amid Omicron concerns.
The World Health Organisation has warned that the risk related to Omicron – a new variant of Covid-19 – is “very high”. The global health body said that the B.1.1.529 strain, first found in South Africa, is “highly divergent” and is likely to spread internationally at a very high speed and could possibly have severe consequences.
On November 29, a 39-year-old South African returnee was tested positive for Covid-19 in Chandigarh, raising concerns about Omicron transmission in the UT. A resident of Sector 36, he had tested negative on his arrival at the airport on November 21 but was found to be infected during his retest.
“The health department has already sent his samples for genome sequencing, results of which are still awaited. The man, his wife and the maid are isolated at hospital, their health condition is stable and they are not requiring oxygen support,” said Garg.
Meanwhile, a woman who was booked on Friday for breaking the quarantine order after returning from South Africa was shifted to Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, after her oxygen level dipped. However, she again tested negative on Saturday.
Highest vax numbers in a month
The number of vaccine doses administered in Chandigarh has shown an improvement after concerns about the new variant emerged, the health department said.
“Earlier, only 4,000-4,500 people were getting vaccinated daily, but on Saturday, over 6,000 got vaccinated in Chandigarh. This is the highest single-day tally in the past 30 days. People have realised the threat of the new Omicron variant,” said the health secretary.
As on Saturday, 9,45,950 (113%) people have taken their first shot in Chandigarh, while 6,48,250 (77%) are fully vaccinated.
Tricity’s daily tally drops below 10
Meanwhile, the tricity’s daily case tally dropped down to single digit once again, as only eight people tested positive on Saturday. As many as 18 cases had surfaced on Friday, including 14 in Mohali alone.
On Saturday, both Mohali and Chandigarh recorded three cases each while Panchkula reported two. No Covid-related death has been reported in the tricity for the past couple of weeks.
Even the tricity’s active caseload dipped to 123 from 141 reported on Friday. There are 60 active cases in Chandigarh, followed by 48 in Mohali, and 15 in Panchkula.
Chandigarh has so far reported 65,481 positive cases, of which 64,601 have been cured and 820 have died. In Mohali, total cases recorded to date are 68,974. Among these, 67,854 patients have recovered and 1,072 have died. Panchkula’s caseload of 30,841 includes 30,447 recoveries and 379 casualties.
