E-Paper
Himachal sees two-fold increase in fatalities in over one month
There has been a jump of 154% in the Covid-linked deaths since November 1.
Even as the Covid-19 situation has been gradually improving countrywide in the past over a month, the global pandemic has hit Himachal Pradesh hard during this period.
Not only has the hill-state witnessed a surge in the number of infections, but there has been a sharp rise in virus-related deaths.
Since November 1, the fatalities have swelled by more than double. The state reported 48,951 infections and nearly 793 deaths linked to the disease as on December 12.
There has been a jump of 154% in the Covid-linked deaths during this period. The state has the case fatality ratio of 1.6% against the national average of 1.5% and is among the top five states with a high death rate.
The case fatality rate (CFR) is the ratio of deaths and confirmed cases and is an indicator of severity of disease in a given period.
As many as 323 people died in November while 158 people have succumbed to the contagion in less than a fortnight in December.
Shimla, Kangra worst hit
Shimla district, which has seen the maximum case surge in the past month, has also recorded the highest number of deaths. The district has reported 9,056 infections since November.
Shimla chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Surekha Chopra said the multiple factors contributed to the spike in Covid-19 cases in Shimla. The hill-town is the state capital and has maximum government offices.
Besides, the marriages, social gatherings and ceremonial processions aggravated the situation.
As many as 215 people had died of the virus in the district as on November 12. Shimla has the highest case fatality ratio of 2.37%.
Medical superintendent of Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH) Dr Janak Raj said the case fatality ratio in Shimla was high due to referral cases.
“IGMCH is the territory Covid care centre and patients are referred here from other districts, including Bilaspur, Solan, Sirmaur and Kinnaur among others,” said Dr Janak.
He also attributed the high death rate to late arrival of patients. “Patients are coming to the hospitals at later stages of infection or when their oxygen level drops below 40%,” he said.
Similarly, Kangra, the population-wise biggest district, has reported 157 deaths against 6,636 infections and CFR is 2.36%. A total of 100 people died in Mandi, the second worst hit district in terms of number of infections, it has a CFR of 1.5%.
Chief minister Jai Ram in his address recently said that social gatherings were the prime cause of increase in cases. The spike forced the government to introduce strict curbs including the capping of attendees in such gatherings to 50.
Higher male mortality
The government data also revealed that the death rate is higher in men than in women. Sixty-seven percent of the total deaths reported in the state were men. As many as 531 men have died due to the infection compared to 257 (33%) women, said Dr Nipun Jindal, director, National Health Mission, Himachal Pradesh.
Most of the victims had co-morbidities, pre-existing diseases like hypertension and diabetes etc. As per the data, more than 65% of corona death cases had other illnesses in Himachal Pradesh.
About 27.9% of the 793 people who have died from coronavirus were in the age group of 61-70. Similarly, 22% were in the age group of 71-80; 21% percent between 51-60 years. Ten percent victims were 80 years or above.
The younger people too are vulnerable and about 17% of the victims were in the age group of 11 to 50 years of age. The youngest victim was a 1.5-year-old kid.
How infections and deaths have grown
Himachal Pradesh recorded its first case on March 20 and first fatality on March 23. Till July, the situation was much better as only 2,564 infections were reported and 12 people had died. Since August, there has been a constant rise in both the infections and fatalities. Till October-end, there were 22,059 cases and 312 deaths in Himachal. Maximum rise was in November when the state witnessed 18,459 cases and 323 deaths. The trend is continuing in December.
