With 864 people testing positive for Covid-19 on Monday, Chandigarh’s daily tally witnessed a downward trend for the third consecutive day, over 50% drop from the all-time high of 1,834 registered on Friday. On Saturday, 1,795 cases had surfaced, while 1,358 people tested positive on Sunday.
Even the tricity saw a dip in daily infections for the first time in five days, as only 2,215 people tested positive, including 702 in Mohali and 649 in Panchkula. The all-time record was set on Sunday with 3,907 cases.
Even Mohali recorded a drop in numbers after four days, and Panchkula registered it after three days. Mohali had set a record with 1,831 cases the previous day, while Panchkula hit an all-time high with 734 cases last Wednesday (January 12).
“Even though the cases in Chandigarh are falling for three days, it is too early to say that the peak is over. Usually, the graph first flattens among the health workers and then in the community. A the PGIMER, the daily infection count among health workers has been dropping for the past six days. In the community, most people have already got tested and are infected, due to which not many are coming positive these days,” said Dr PVM Lakshmi, professor, Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER.
While cautioning people against lowering their guard, Dr Lakshmi said: “We should observe for another week, and when the positivity rate will drop despite the high number of samples tested, only then can we say that the graph is flattening.”
{{/usCountry}}While cautioning people against lowering their guard, Dr Lakshmi said: “We should observe for another week, and when the positivity rate will drop despite the high number of samples tested, only then can we say that the graph is flattening.”
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh, said, “We are testing more than 4,000 people daily. Even when 1,358 cases were reported on Sunday, the samples tested were above 6,000. The cases are dropping, as we have reached the herd immunity stage, where more than 60% people in the community are already infected and have antibodies to fight the virus. Also, since most of the people are now fully vaccinated, the graph will drop with the same speed with which it initially rose.”
Four fatalities across tricity
A day after registering eight deaths, the tricity recorded four more: two each in Chandigarh and Mohali.
In Chandigarh, the victims included two women, aged 63 and 65, who were residing in Maloya and Sector 49, respectively. Both were fully vaccinated. While the Maloya woman was a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, the other was suffering from renal disease and hypertension.
In Mohali district, the victims have been identified as a 78-year-old man from Sector 78 and a 60-year-old woman from Dera Bassi.
79% positivity rate in Panchkula
At 79%, Panchkula recorded the highest positivity rate on Monday. On Sunday, it had stood at 35%. Health officials said the number surged because of limited number of tests done on Sunday, the results of which came on Monday. It means, of every five people sampled the previous day, four were confirmed positive on Monday.
Meanwhile, there are 2,891 active cases in Panchkula, but only 21 people are hospitalised. In Mohali, the active caseload has reached 7,834. The tricity’s total stands at 19,829, including 9,104 in Chandigarh. However, only 119 people are hospitalised in Chandigarh, while 8,886 are isolated at their homes and 99 at mini Covid care centres.