For the second consecutive week, the weekly Covid-19 tally crossed the 100-mark in the Chandigarh tricity area, with as many as 136 fresh infections surfacing between December 13 and 19.
The weekly tally is also the highest since the second wave started ebbing away in the area in July.
Among the three jurisdictions, only Chandigarh registered a spike in cases this week, which medical experts believe is the result of MC elections’ campaigning, crowded marriage events and people’s apathy towards Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.
UT’s cases increased drastically from last week’s 48 to 70 cases this week. In Mohali, the tally dropped from 48 to 35 in the same period, while Panchkula logged near-about same infections – 31 this week against 30 last week.
In the previous week, tricity had reported 126 cases, besides one fatality in Mohali. This week, the number of deaths rose to two, with Panchkula and Chandigarh confirming one each.
At the peak of the second wave in May, the tricity had clocked 46,245 cases and 790 deaths in just one month. Since then, the figures started winding downwards and weekly cases began fluctuating.
{{/usCountry}}At the peak of the second wave in May, the tricity had clocked 46,245 cases and 790 deaths in just one month. Since then, the figures started winding downwards and weekly cases began fluctuating.
{{/usCountry}}However, the weekly tally never crossed the 100 mark until the week ending on November 29, which saw 109 infections. In its following week, the case count saw a 15% dip with 93 infections, but then spiked again at 126 in the previous week.
‘Positivity rate below 1%’
Though the weekly cases started showing an upward trend after mid-November, the positivity rate in all three jurisdictions continues to remain below 1%.
In the week ending on December 19, Chandigarh had tested as many as 9,227 people for Covid-19, of which 70 turned out positive, a positivity rate of 0.75%.
In the same period, Mohali tested 11,942 people and found 35 infected (0.29%). At 0.37%, the positivity rate in Panchkula was also low with only 31 people testing positive out of the 8,242 sampled.
‘Not too late to avert another surge’
UT director, health services, Dr Suman Singh said, “The cases are rising simply due to people’s apathy towards Covid-appropriate behaviour. At crowded election rallies, public gatherings, markets and marriage events, social distancing and face masks are not given priority. Since the positivity, hospitalisation and fatality rates are currently under control, we can still work on averting another surge.”
“Within a month, Chandigarh’s active cases have doubled, which is a cause of worry. Though we don’t have immediate evidence, Omicron can be the reason behind the Covid surge across the country. Therefore, people must follow safety guidelines and precautions to prevent another wave,” said Dr Sanjeev Palta, the nodal officer of ICU management at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.
Dr Mukta Kumar, chief medical officer, Panchkula, said, “People must exercise caution at election gatherings, as negligence will cause the pandemic numbers to increase. This is a known fact and has been seen in the past as well.”
Mohali civil surgeon Dr Adarsh Pal Kaur said, “The surge is the result of election rallies and crowded events. The situation can be controlled if people pay due importance to vaccination and adherence to safety protocols.”
Two succumb to Covid in tricity, 17 test positive
Covid-19 snuffed out two more lives in the tricity, with Mohali and Chandigarh reporting one fatality each on Monday.
In Chandigarh, an assistant professor of Panjab University succumbed to the virus at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on Sunday night.
The latest fatality in Mohali was a 65-year-old woman from Phase 4, who was admitted at Mayo Hospital in Sector 69.
Chandigarh had last reported a death on December 18 and Mohali on December 7.
Meanwhile, after rising steadily, tricity’s daily Covid cases saw a drop. Against 28 infections the day before, 17 new cases surfaced on Monday.
Chandigarh was the biggest contributor to the daily tally with 14 cases, followed by two cases from Panchkula and one from Mohali.
With this, Chandigarh’s active cases reached 100, a first since July 10. As many as 42 patients are still infected in Mohali and 34 in Panchkula.
Since the pandemic broke out, Chandigarh has logged 65,717 cases and lost 1,078 patients to the virus. Mohali’s cases and deaths have reached 69,174 and 1,074, respectively.
In Panchkula, 30,905 people have been infected so far and 381 have died.