Rajasthan readies for peak of 2nd Covid-19 wave amid tightening of curbs

Rajasthan government claims that the recovery rate from Covid-19 increased by 61% in the state over the past one week on the back of increased testing, new containment zones and strict enforcement of Covid-containment measures

Rajasthan government claims that the recovery rate from Covid-19 increased by 61% in the state over the past one week on the back of increased testing, new containment zones and strict enforcement of Covid-containment measures. The state’s overall recovery rate has reached 69.43%.

Rajasthan: A graffiti on road to create awareness during the lockdown imposed amid the rise in COVID-19 cases, at Gopalpura in Jaipur on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

Government data shows that from 7,426 on April 27, the number of recoveries in the state shot up to 11,949 on Monday, when 17, 296 new Covid cases were reported taking the tally of active cases to 194,371. However, the overall recovery rate has seen a continuous decline since last year since new cases on most days in the second wave have continuously been higher than the recoveries recorded on the same day.

Dr Ajit Singh of SMS hospital says the lower recovery rate in the second wave is also due to patients taking longer to recover as most cases admitted to the hospitals are of severe nature, requiring oxygen support, which is not adequate at the moment.

He says many experts believe the number of cases were likely to peak with the second wave around May 15. “We will witness a steep surge and hopefully a drastic decline following the peak,” Singh said. He is hopeful that more people getting vaccinated in the coming days will also bring down daily active cases.

However, the district administrations across the state are currently getting ready to deal with the impending peak of the disease. “The estimated peak could be very serious, but since vigilance has been increased across Rajasthan, the number of people stepping out on roads has sharply declined,” said an official.

Rajasthan police says they have challaned 17 lakh people for violation of Covid-containment guidelines. Out of these, 4 lakh have been fined for not wearing masks.

Jaipur police said that they are under instruction to send violators to institutional quarantine.