Panchkula witnessed all-time high fatality, positivity rates in May

A total of 8,922 new cases were reported taking the positivity rate to 14.6%; fatality rate increased from 0.6% to 1.5%

The month of May has proven to be a deadly one for Panchkula in terms of the number of lives lost due to Covid-19.

As many as 53 deaths were reported in April and 142 in May in Panchkula. Since the crematoriums were running out of space, the Haryana government had imposed a lockdown in the state in May. (HT FILE PHOTO)

As many as 142 fatalities were reported in May, which is 37 times more than those in April and makes for an all time high fatality rate of 1.5% since the beginning of the pandemic.

A total of 8,922 new cases were reported taking the positivity rate to 14.6%, an all time high this year. At 96%, the recovery rate, however, showed some improvement from 86% in April.

In February this year, Panchkula witnessed a slight decline in the positivity rate from 2.5% to 1.5%, and the fatality rate had come down from 0.9% to 0.6%. From 538 cases and five deaths reported in January, the numbers had reduced to 313 cases and two deaths in February.

However, the situation started worsening from March onwards: 2,193 new cases took the positivity rate to 6.2%. With five deaths, however, the month witnessed a decline in fatality rate, which was 0.2%.

The number of cases and deaths shot up over the next two months. As many as 53 deaths were reported in April and 142 in May. The fatality rate increased from 0.6% to 1.5%.

As the crematoriums were running out of space, the Haryana government had imposed a lockdown in May. The movement restrictions did help in controlling the pace at which new cases were being reported, however, the number of deaths continued to rise.

During the first wave, a peak was recorded in September 2020, when the highest number of deaths (66) were reported along with 3,762 new cases.