E-Paper
Chandigarh tricity area’s Covid caseload down by 90% in February
Experts say that the herd immunity achieved during the third wave in January and increased vaccine coverage are among the reasons for the dip in Chandigarh tricity area’s Covid infections in February, though they cautioned people against lowering their guard while stating that a fourth wave cannot be ruled out.
Tricity’s monthly Covid tally saw a 90% dip in February as compared to January when the case count had crossed 50,000, data provided by the health department shows.
The tricity logged 5,981 infections in the month of February, of which the maximum, 2,395, came from Mohali followed by 2,252 cases from Chandigarh and 1,334 cases from Panchkula.
In terms of deaths, Chandigarh was the worst hit with 43 fatalities followed by Mohali (23) and Panchkula (13). In January, the three jurisdictions had reported 59,273 cases and 113 deaths.
What led to the decline in cases
Experts say that the herd immunity achieved during the third wave in January and increased vaccine coverage are among the reasons for the dip in infections in February, though they cautioned people against lowering their guard while stating that a fourth wave cannot be ruled out.
Dr PVM Lakshmi, professor of epidemiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, said, “In January, Covid cases surged rapidly due to the high transmissibility rate of the Omicron variant. The herd immunity achieved during this period brought down the infection count in February.”
She added that the revised testing protocols, wherein asymptomatic patients were not being tested, also brought down the monthly case tally.
Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh, “The third wave was mostly driven by the Omicron variant, which was infecting even vaccinated people. The virus can change its mutations and new variants can continue to crop up in future. Hence, we can’t rule out the possibility of another wave. Therefore, it is advised that residents continue observing Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated at the earliest.”
‘Virus still lethal for vulnerable people’
According to health officials, most people who died during the third wave had three common conditions -- comorbidities, old age or lack of vaccination. Dr Girish Dogra, nodal officer for Covid-19 in Mohali, said: “The virus is still lethal for comorbid and aged people. In the third wave, severity of infection and fatality count were low as vaccination helped significantly. People must not skip their second vaccination dose and come forward to get jabbed at the earliest.”
Panchkula and Chandigarh have already vaccinated its target adult population with both doses of the vaccine. In Mohali, around 92% of the target adult population is fully vaccinated.
