Ludhiana’s Covid-19 death toll surpasses 900 in 244 days

The district’s death toll due to Covid-19 breached the 900 mark on Saturday with five more residents losing the battle to the virus – eight months after Ludhiana recorded its first casualty on March 29.

Besides, 100 residents also tested positive, taking the case tally to 22,642. Among these, 869 cases are still active, while 20,868 people have recovered.

The latest fatalities include a 75-year-old man from Haibowal, a 68-year-old woman from Latala village, a 65-year-old man from Jagraon and a 63-year-old man from Dhandran Road. The fifth patient died at PGIMER, Chandigarh, and the details were awaited, health department officials said.

The spike in death rate

After the first Covid casualty on March 29, Ludhiana had recorded another three in April and five more in May.

As the lockdown restrictions were lifted, allowing borders to reopen and economic activity to resume, the Covid fatalities rose to 12 in June. The situation worsened in July that saw 67 deaths. August saw the death rate spiralling in Ludhiana, with 323 people succumbing to the virus in a month. There was no bend in the curve until the end of September either, as 330 more deaths were recorded.

The district saw some relief from the pandemic in October when the casualties came down to 96 – a 70% drop in the monthly fatality rate.

Similarly, as of November 28, 65 deaths have been recorded in Ludhiana.

But, health department officials caution that though there was a brief lull, the Covid-19 casualty graph was again witnessing an uptick, so there was no room for complacency.

“The recent spurt in cases as well as deaths is a clear indicator that the second wave has arrived. Earlier, during the first wave, the virus had first spread in Delhi and three weeks later, we saw the cases burgeoning in Ludhiana as well,” said Dr Bishav Mohan, member of the Covid-19 task force formed by the state government.

He urged residents not to disregard the significance of social distancing, wearing masks and frequent hand sanitisation while being in public.

Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said Delhi was a clear example of what apathy towards the pandemic can do. “Disregard towards safety protocols only led to another spurt in cases there. We have to ensure not to repeat this mistake in Ludhiana. Until the vaccination programme begins, social distancing, hand washing and wearing a mask are the only ways to prevent infection,” said Dr Bagga.