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Gurugram: Active Covid cases cross 3,000-mark for first time
Gurugram: The number of active Covid-19 cases in Gurugram has, for the first time, crossed the 3,000-mark, shows data from the district health department. With 397
Gurugram: The number of active Covid-19 cases in Gurugram has, for the first time, crossed the 3,000-mark, shows data from the district health department. With 397 new positive cases on Wednesday, the total count of Covid-19 patients, who are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals or are in home isolation, has reached 3,151 in the district.
Officials said that spreading of the infection within families and lax attitude in following safety guidelines like wearing masks has resulted in the spike in the active cases.
Since October 21, Gurugram has been recording more than 300 fresh Covid-19 cases per day. Since then, the highest single-day spike of 398 cases were reported on October 24. The upward trajectory of the cases has led to the record spike in active cases.
The health department data shows that when cases were climbing up with positivity rate of almost 18% in June-July, active infections were still under 3,000. The active cases had been fluctuating between 2,500 and 2,900 since September, but they did not cross the 3,000-mark.
Health officials said that they will continue to do more than 3,000 tests per day and focus on tracking of patients. In the last two months, testing has increased from 2,200 a day to almost 3,000 a day.
Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, said, “As the infection is spreading within the families, numbers are escalating. To increase overall tests, we have started evening camps. Earlier, only 30-50 samples were being collected in evening camps, which has now increased to over 120. We might see a downfall in testing as many people due to the festive season will not come forward for testing.”
Yadav said that the surge in cases is noticeable after every 21 days.
According to the data, of the 3,151 active cases, at least 2,951 patients (nearly 94%) are currently under home isolation, nine are in facilities set up by the district administration for isolation and 191 seriously ill patients in various private hospitals.
Although the health department administers nearly 3,000 tests every day, the positivity rate — proportion of samples that return positive among those tested — has been increasing constantly. From weekly positivity rate of 9% in August, it is now above 12%. On Wednesday, the positivity rate stood at 12.20%. Studies show that increasing positivity rate indicated widespread prevalence of infection, which can be addressed through increased testing.
Despite the spike in cases, the fatality rate is restricted at 0.73% in Gurugram. On Wednesday, no Covid-19 death was reported in the district, whereby the toll stood at 206. Till now, 28,704 people in the district have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
When asked about the enforcement of Covid-19 protocols, Yadav said, “We can only advise people to take precautionary measures like wearing masks and maintaining social distance.”
Data available with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) shows that nearly 18,000 people have been fined in August, September and October for not wearing masks in public areas. A total of 30,000 fines have been issued since April for mask violation, as per the MCG data.
