‘Haryana will see Covid-19 second wave peak by May 15’

Haryana is already among the 10 worst-affected Covid-19 states across the country, but it is yet to witness its peak, says Rajeev Arora, additional chief secretary, health and home affairs department, Haryana government

Haryana is already among the 10 worst-affected Covid-19 states across the country, but it is yet to witness its peak, says Rajeev Arora, additional chief secretary, health and home affairs department, Haryana government. Arora spoke to Archana Mishra about the projections, mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus prevalent in the state and oxygen supply disruptions in the district.

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Gurugram has been witnessing a powerful resurgence in coronavirus infections. How do you assess the situation and what are the projections?

The projections made by the central government on the current growth rate of the infection shows that Haryana will see the Covid-19 second wave peak by May 15. Currently, there are 108, 830 active cases in the state. It is expected that by May 15, it will reach about 140,000. Thereafter, the curve of the active case will begin to plateau. The surge will not be from Gurugram alone, which has been reporting maximum coronavirus case every day, but from other districts too. In the case of Gurugram, the average test positivity rate has been around 25% in the last few days, which was earlier around 29 to 33%. This test positivity rate of Gurugram will remain for some time, as, in all likelihood, the decline will be seen first in the northern belt of Panchkula, Ambala and Kurukshetra.

The district is already grappling with a lack of oxygen and beds for critically ill Covid-19 patients. How is the state planning to address the situation when the cases increase further?

Haryana’s oxygen production has been high. But, as per the allocations made by the Government of India, we are providing it to other states like Delhi and Punjab. There are diversions in the oxygen supply even after the allocation. Certainly, there are logistical issues, but the state has already detailed the oxygen demand of every district. In the last seven to 10 days, there have been dramatic changes in the oxygen plant contract policy, which has also affected the certainty of oxygen supply and the existing mechanism between oxygen plants and hospitals in Gurugram. It was not expected that oxygen demand would shoot up within a week. To timely address the shortfall in oxygen supply, we are airlifting cryogenic oxygen containers from Rourkela. For Covid-19 bed management, deputy commissioners have already been assigned the task of arranging facilities.

How many mutant strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are currently prevalent in Haryana?

Based on the genomic sequencing of 922 samples collected across the state, at least 555 showed no mutation while 367 showed mutant strains. Of these, 310 samples were of the UK variant. Results provided by a Delhi-based lab mentions that 45% of samples had “variant of concern” and 3% with “variant not of concern”.

Covid-19 vaccination has also become a big challenge in the district, especially for those who need to take the second shot within the allotted time frame. How is the state planning to address the problem?

Undoubtedly, the process has been disrupted. The vaccine stock which was to be used only for the prioritised population groups has been now divided into two categories, 18 to 44 years and citizens aged over 45 years. Since the state is no longer linked with private hospitals to provide the vaccine, people who require the second dose can get the inoculation at government facilities. We have already allocated 13,000 additional doses to Gurugram to streamline the vaccination process.