Punjab’s Covid-19 curve appears to have flattened completely with the state’s average weekly positivity rate coming down to 1.5% from 5% within four weeks.
The figures obtained from the health department reveal that the state’s average positivity rate for May 20-26 was 5%, which dropped to 3% and 2% in the subsequent two weeks and was recorded at 1.5% in the week ending June 17.
The past one month has also seen the number of daily cases dropping from around 7,000 to 669 on June 17. The sharp dip in the positivity rate has been witnessed even as the state government has been conducting over 50,000 tests a day despite the drop in new cases. Experts say it is expected to go down further.
Positivity rate is the true indicator of the growth or decline in the spread of an infection, as it is the proportion of people testing positive among all those sampled.
“We have not compromised with testing at all even with the decline in cases. That is why we consider the 1.5% positivity ratio as a sign of relief for us. We expect further dip in the cases by the end of this month,” said the state’s nodal officer for Covid-19, Dr Rajesh Bhaskar.
Punjab had registered the highest positivity rate of 14.2% on May 12. The state at present has 10,046 active cases, which are lowest in the past three months.
{{/usCountry}}Punjab had registered the highest positivity rate of 14.2% on May 12. The state at present has 10,046 active cases, which are lowest in the past three months.
{{/usCountry}}High fatality rate cause of concern
Meanwhile, as in the past, the case fatality ratio (CFR) continues to remain a cause of concern, as the number of deaths registered proportionate to the new cases is still high in Punjab.
Data suggest that the state’s CFR has further notched up to 2.7% from 2.6% a week back. In the week between June 9 and 15, the state registered 257 deaths, with an average of 36 deaths a day.
“The number of deaths is high as serious patients may take two to three weeks to recover. We expect the daily deaths to fall further by the end of next week,” said the nodal officer.