Most fresh Covid cases reported in 21-40 age group in Ghaziabad

During the last one week — from April 18-24 — the district has recorded 257 new cases from the 27,027 samples that were tested and the positivity rate is 0.95%

The officials of the district health department on Sunday said that Covid-19 cases have almost doubled during the last five days but the severity is negligible. According to health officials, the highest number of positive cases in Ghaziabad district is being reported in the age group of 21-40, while the least affected age group is 60-plus years.

A health worker conducts a Covid test at MMG Hospital in Ghaziabad on Saturday. (Sakib Ali/ HT)

According to the official records, the district has registered 371 positive cases since April 12 out of which 39.08% (145) are in age group 21-40 years, while 32.08% (119) are in the age group 41-60 years; 12.13% (45) in the age group of 13-20 years; 8.89% (33) in the age group of 0-12 years and those over 60 years of age recorded 7.82% (29) cases.

“The highest affected age group is 21-40 years as these people move out for work on a regular basis and are more prone to be infected with the virus. There is a sizable infection among children but it is far less compared to the 21-40 age group. The overall severity of the infection is being monitored regularly and all the active cases are in home isolation, barring a 17-year-old boy, who preferred to be admitted to a healthcare facility. Overall, Covid-19 cases have seen a rise in the past couple of days,” said Dr Sunil Tyagi, additional chief medical officer, Ghaziabad district.

During the last one week — from April 18-24 —the district has recorded 257 new cases from the 27,027 samples that were tested and the positivity rate is 0.95%. During the previous week (April 11-17), the district recorded a total of 116 cases from the 23,540 samples that were tested with a positivity rate of 0.49%.

In the month of April, the district achieved its highest daily testing on April 22, when it tested 4,401 samples.

“The daily testing target of 7,400 is yet to be achieved as most patients are asymptomatic. They are not too eager to get themselves tested. We have the capacity to surpass the daily testing target and can take up about 10,000 samples on a daily basis,” Dr Tyagi added.

According to official records, the district on Sunday recorded 55 fresh cases and the overall tally of active cases stood at 246 with 410 cases reported in the month of April. The overall cases have risen to 85,284 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

The experts said that the severity is very less in the present set of cases.

“The severity is negligible and most of the patients have very mild or no symptoms. However, it is imperative that all Covid-19 precautions are followed. Wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing norms are still very important,” said Dr Ashish Aggarwal, former president of the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Ghaziabad chapter.