Madhya Pradesh’s Covid-19 tally of positive Covid cases crossed 100,000 on Friday (1,00,458) with 2,552 new cases reported in the past 24 hours across the state, as per the health department’s bulletin released on Friday evening.
For over a week now, the state has been reporting 2,300-2,500 new cases daily and has become the 17th state in the country to report over 100,000 cases. The state also occupies the 9th position in Covid-related deaths with Maharashtra being on the top, as per the data of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Also read: No conclusive evidence of foodborne transmission of Covid-19
The alarming figure of over 100,000-odd Covid cases was reached in six months since the first case was reported in the state from Jabalpur on March 20. More alarming is the fact that while the first 50,000 cases were reported by August 21, it took less than a month to add another 50,000+ cases to the tally.
Thus, the unlock period has seen a massive spread of the disease and more deaths across the state. On August 21, the cases tally stood at 50,640 and the number of deaths was at 1,185. On September 18, the tally was 100,458 and the number of deaths at 1,901. So, in less than a month, 716 deaths were reported. Statistically, in the first five months, there were more than seven deaths per day on an average whereas since August 21, the state has been recording over 25 deaths per day on an average.
{{/usCountry}}Thus, the unlock period has seen a massive spread of the disease and more deaths across the state. On August 21, the cases tally stood at 50,640 and the number of deaths was at 1,185. On September 18, the tally was 100,458 and the number of deaths at 1,901. So, in less than a month, 716 deaths were reported. Statistically, in the first five months, there were more than seven deaths per day on an average whereas since August 21, the state has been recording over 25 deaths per day on an average.
{{/usCountry}}Indore continues to remain the worst affected district in the state with 18,717 cases and 485 casualties. Bhopal follows with 14,339 cases and 349 deaths followed by Gwalior with 8,720 cases and 100 deaths and Jabalpur with 7,151 cases and 120 deaths.
Out of the total 52 districts in the state, as many as 29 districts have registered over 1,000 cases each so far. Out of the total 100,458 cases, 76,952 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals across the state while 21,605 are active cases. The number of Covid tests across the state also reached 1,782,505 on Friday.
Public health expert Amulya Nidhi said, “The situation is more alarming than what is reflected in the government’s bulletins. There is still no community participation to control the disease despite the government’s appeal to people to take preventive measures. That the positivity rate on Friday stood at 12.4% speaks volumes of the situation. This is despite the fact that the government is yet to enhance Covid tests to a desired level. There are numerous complaints of people not getting beds in hospitals due to shortage of the same.”
Health minister Dr Prabhuram Chaudhary said, “The state government is working round the clock to strengthen and expand the health facilities so that people don’t have to travel long distances to get the treatment. We will definitely win the battle against Corona under the leadership of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Now, more than 35,000 Covid tests are being conducted in the state and for speedy treatment, fever clinics are working across the state.”