Ludhiana’s daily Covid cases drop below 50 after five weeks

A total of 44 people found infected in Ludhiana, 25 days after the daily cases hit the all-time high of 1,808 on January 14

The steady decline in district’s daily Covid-19 tally continued on Tuesday as the fresh infections dropped below 50 for the first time in over five weeks.

While Ludhiana is recovering from the pandemic’s deadly blow over the past few weeks, Covid protocols, including masks and social distancing, continue to be flouted, as seen at the virtual rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Clock Tower Chowk on Tuesday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

As many as 44 people tested positive for the virus, down from 63 on Monday.

It was on January 2 last when 40 cases were detected in the district, following which the daily case count climbed rapidly, hitting the all-time peak of 1,808 on January 14.

However, amid the receding cases, the district lost two more residents to the contagion on Tuesday. As many as 30 people have succumbed to the virus in the first eight days of February, compared to three in the same period in January.

The latest victims, an 83-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman, were both residents of Model Gram and suffering from other ailments as well. Their vaccination status was not immediately available.

Meanwhile, the district’s active cases dropped below the 1,000 mark for the first time since January 6, when 776 people were still infected.

Of the 864 positive patients in the district now, 768 are in home isolation and 96 are admitted at various private hospitals. None of the Covid beds in government facilities is occupied, a first since the beginning of the year.

However, the district still has 15 active micro-containment zones, where regular screening and frequent sanitation are being conducted to restrict spread of infection.

While the Covid graph has been winding downwards, civil surgeon Dr SP Singh cautioned residents against lowering their guard.

He said though the cases were declining, it did not mean that people should forget Covid-appropriate behaviour. “Social distancing and face masks in public are still the best methods to stop the spread of virus. Also, as the elderly and comorbid people are still vulnerable to the infection, they should get vaccinated and get the precaution dose, if eligible, at the earliest,” he added.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the district has logged 1,09,248 Covid cases, of which 1,06,135 people have recovered and 2,249 have died.