E-Paper
Chandigarh tricity sees steep surge, clocks 638 Covid cases
The Chandigarh tricity area registered more than 600 fresh Covid-19 cases for the first time since the first wave in September, with 638 people testing positive for the virus on Friday
The Chandigarh tricity area registered more than 600 fresh Covid-19 cases for the first time since the first wave in September, with 638 people testing positive for the virus on Friday.
Mohali district registered 258 cases, followed by 214 in Chandigarh and 166 in Panchkula district, the highest numbers for all the three places in the past six months.
During the first wave, the tricity had recorded the peak on September 13, when 865 people had tested positive. Subsequently, the numbers had seen a gradual decline.
Meanwhile, in some respite, both Mohali and Panchkula reported no virus-related casualty, while only one death was recorded in Chandigarh.
For the first time since October, the number of active cases crossed the 1,500 mark in Chandigarh, which also took the number of total infections across 24,000. Of 24,017 cases reported so far, 1,597 (6.6%) remain active.
While 22,060 (91.9%) patients have recovered, 360 have died, including a 75-year-old woman from Sector 41 who breathed her last at a private hospital in Mohali on Friday.
Chandigarh has been reporting more than 200 cases for the past three days, while the positivity rate has jumped above 8%, which is the second highest in the country after Maharashtra.
After a virtual meeting with the Prime Minister on Wednesday, UT administrator VP Singh Bandore had directed the health department to ramp up testing and also told police to ensure strict enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour. Meanwhile, UT adviser Manoj Parida had ruled out any “knee-jerk reaction”, such as night curfew.
Compulsory testing of those without masks in Mohali
Mohali city continues to report bulk of the cases in the district, with 203 surfacing on Friday. The district’s total has climbed to 22,912, with number of active cases at 1,868 (8.2%).
Just 19 days into March, 2,597 cases and 23 deaths have been reported, up from 840 and 20, respectively, throughout February. Meanwhile, with 62 patients being discharged on Friday, the number of those recovered climbed to 20,636, though recovery rate has slipped to 90%.
Acting tough on violators, the Mohali administration on Friday decided that people found without masks in public places will have to undergo compulsory testing for Covid-19 besides paying ₹500 fine.
Deputy commissioner Girish Daylan said that 62 such people were challaned at the busy Phase 3B2 market on Friday. All had to undergo RT-PCR test on the spot, and reports will be shared the following day, he said.
“We will also make a database of those fined, and strict action will be taken against repeat offenders,” said the DC, adding that new teams have been constituted to keep vigil in markets. He said even shopkeepers have been warned of action if they do not direct their customers to follow the norms.
The state government had on Thursday extended the night curfew in Mohali by two hours. The curfew is being imposed from 9pm to 5am, said Dayalan. Apart from movement for essential and emergency services throughout the night, home delivery of food will be allowed till 10pm. Employees of private establishments involving night duties will also be allowed to move on the production of ID cards issued by their companies.
Three govt schoolkids among those positive in P’kula
Three students of a government school in Pinjore are among 166 people tested positive in Panchkula district.
The total has reached 11,740, with 618 (5.3%) cases active, up from 124 at the beginning of the month. The cases have been on the rise since March 1, in what local health officials are calling the “second wave” of the pandemic. While 10,973 (93.5%) patients have been cured, 149 have died.
The government urban polyclinic centre in Pinjore had randomly tested 174 government school students on Thursday, whose reports came on Friday. The three found positive are students of Class 9. They were home quarantined after being picked up from the morning assembly. Random testing of other schoolchildren is also being done, said officials.
Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja in an order reiterated that wearing of masks is mandatory in public places and any violation will invite ₹500 fine. The order also specified that non-payment of the fine will lead to the registration of a case under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The DC has designated clock education officers of Pinjore, Barwala, Raipur Rani and Morni along with sub-inspectors, inspector, chief inspector and station supervisor of Haryana Roadways as the officers for implementing the order.
The DC also held a meeting with representatives of various religious, social and non-governmental organisations and appealed to them for active contribution towards the vaccination drive. It has been decided to organise mega camps every Monday and Tuesday for senior citizens and comorbid people across 49 government and private vaccination centres in the district.
Of 1.35 lakh senior citizens, 35,000 have been vaccinated so far, and the administration targets to cover the remaining by the end of this month.
Elderly man dies soon after getting jabbed in Pinjore
A senior citizen died within minutes of getting the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Pinjore on Friday. The health authorities said the preliminary postmortem reported stated heart attack as the cause of death.
The deceased, 71, was a resident of Model Town in Pinjore. He had gone to get vaccinated along with his wife and four friends at the government urban polyclinic centre near the Pinjore police station around 10am.
His wife said they both got the vaccine shot around 10:30am, and soon after the elderly man’s health deteriorated though she herself was fine.
The man fell unconscious and was rushed to the civil hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, where doctors declared him dead. The body was handed to the family after postmortem.
Panchkula civil surgeon Jasjit Kaur confirmed that the senior citizen had died soon after being jabbed, but clarified that the death cannot be linked to vaccination.
“He had history of heart ailment and cause of death after preliminary postmortem was heart attack. A committee of doctors has been constituted to investigate the cause of death,” she said, adding that the man’s wife and others who got vaccinated along with him are doing fine.
