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Third wave over, Chandigarh admn closes all mini Covid centres
Restrictions on gatherings for any purpose to continue in Chandigarh; should not exceed 50% of the venue’s capacity
Convinced that the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is over, the UT administration on Thursday decided to close down all mini Covid centres.
The centres catered to patients who did not have sufficient home isolation space, or support and resources for treatment.
So far, five such centres were operating from Bal Bhawan (Sector 23), Indira Holiday Home (Sector 24), Sports Complex (Sector 34), Police Hospital (Sector 26) and IMA (Sector 35).
Amid the steady decline in Covid infections in the city, the administration on February 10 had already lifted most of the restrictions on public movement, such as night curfew, and allowed schools to function at full capacity.
Restrictions on the tourism and hospitality sectors were also removed. The Chandigarh Bird Park and Rock Garden were reopened, while all curbs at markets, apni mandis, malls, restaurants, hotels, bars, cinema halls, multiplexes, museums, sports complexes, swimming pools, gyms, spas and health centres were relaxed.
But in the Covid review meeting on Thursday, the administration decided to continue with restrictions on gatherings for any purpose.
As per last week’s order, these should be restricted to 200 people for indoor and 500 people for outdoor events. However, the total number of people should not exceed 50% of the venue’s capacity for any kind of gathering.
No more Covid review meetings
Terming it as the last “war room” (Covid review meeting) for now, UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit urged residents to be vigilant and not lower their guard.
He stressed on strictly following social distancing protocols and wearing masks in public places.
Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh, said, “The third wave of the pandemic is over, as the cases have drastically dipped since the second week of January. But people must not get complacent. They should continue to adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour in public, as the infection is still around and is very lethal for vulnerable population, including aged and comorbid people.”
98% decline in daily cases in five weeks
Amid the peak of the third wave, Chandigarh had logged an all-time high of 1,834 cases on January 14. Five weeks later, the daily cases have shrunk down to 35 as of Thursday – a 98% decrease.
Notably, city’s third wave peak of 1,834 cases was over two-fold higher than the second wave high of 895 cases on May 9, 2021.
But while the city had recorded 275 virus-related deaths in May 2021, the toll was down to 42 in January this year, which health experts attribute to higher community immunity due to increase in vaccination coverage.
At the Covid review meeting on Thursday, the administrator appreciated the hard work of health workers, frontline workers and doctors, who have been consistently on their toes to tackle the unforeseen situations posed by the pandemic. He also expressed his gratitude to the NGOs and social organisations that came forward and extended their support through mini Covid centres in the difficult times.
Two more breathe their last in city
Amid the receding Covid-19 cases, Chandigarh recorded two more virus-related deaths on Thursday, taking its toll this month to 36.
Both patients were senior citizens and not vaccinated against the virus.
Aged 79 and 68, the women were residents of Sector 50 and Manimajra, respectively.
The septuagenarian had also suffered a stroke recently, and was already a hypertension and heart disease patient. The other patient was brought dead at GMCH, Sector 32, and later found positive for Covid.
Tricity’s cases down to 94
Meanwhile, tricity’s daily cases dropped below 100 for the second time this week.
As many as 94 people were found positive on Thursday. These included 36 from Mohali, 35 from Chandigarh and 23 from Panchkula.
The fresh infections had decreased to 76 on Monday, but increased to 113 and 134 over the next two days.
Also, tricity’s active caseload came down to 866, of which 385 infected patients are in Mohali, 375 in Chandigarh and 106 in Panchkula.
