E-Paper
Covid in Chandigarh tricity: 821 positive in slight uptick, four dead
Chandigarh was the primary contributor to the 24-hour spike with 364 infections, an over two-fold rise from 156 cases on Tuesday
After a steady decline in daily Covid-19 cases for 12 straight days, tricity recorded an uptick on Wednesday, as 821 people tested positive, against 743 the day before.
The virus also claimed four more lives, all in Chandigarh.
Chandigarh was the primary contributor to the 24-hour spike with 364 infections, an over two-fold rise from 156 cases on Tuesday.
In Mohali, the cases dropped from 380 to 299 and in Panchkula from 207 to 158.
Two senior citizens among casualties
Among the latest fatalities were three men and a woman, two of whom were senior citizens.
The eldest among them, an 87-year-old woman from Sector 33 died at a private hospital. She was fully vaccinated against Covid, but had diabetes, hypertension and chronic kidney disease.
Resident of Sector 41, a 61-year-old man, died at PGIMER. Though he had received the first dose, he was suffering from chronic liver disease.
Another male deceased, aged 50, from Sector 44, died at PGIMER after suffering acute respiratory distress syndrome and chronic liver disease. He was not vaccinated.
A 26-year-old man was the youngest fatality of the day. A resident of Sector 38 West, he also died at PGIMER after acute respiratory distress syndrome and was not vaccinated against the virus.
Meanwhile, tricity’s active cases decreased further from 7,683 on Tuesday to 6,773 on Wednesday, compared to 17,408 a week ago.
As many as 3,380 patients are still infected in Mohali, 2,590 in Chandigarh and 803 in Panchkula.
‘Peak not over yet, no place for complacency’
Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh, said, “Though the curbs are being lifted gradually, there is no place for complacency. People must follow Covid-appropriate behaviour in public and get vaccinated when eligible, as the infection is still claiming lives. Most of the people dying are old and comorbid, but even younger unvaccinated patients are getting severe infection.”
Dr PVM Lakshmi, professor of epidemiology, PGIMER, said, “The fatalities are in control as compared to the second wave. But the third wave is not over yet and apathy can lead to further rise in infections. The situation can be considered in control only when Chandigarh’s single-day tally is in single digit, like in November and December.”
