Second Covid-19 wave takes 311 lives in just 46 days in Noida

NOIDA: Since April 4 this year to May 19 or 46 days, as many as 311Covid-related deaths have taken place in Gautam Budh Nagar district

NOIDA: Since April 4 this year to May 19 or 46 days, as many as 311Covid-related deaths have taken place in Gautam Budh Nagar district. While April saw 121 Covid-19 deaths, the number of deaths due to the viral infection from May 1 to 19 was 190. Last year, the number of deaths in the district due to Covid was 91.

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GB Nagar chief medical officer,Dr Deepak Ohri said that since the past few days, the number of deaths recorded daily has come down, which is directly proportional to the number of cases. “We hope that the number of daily deaths will further go down by the end of this month, as the number of daily new cases is already on a downward trend,” he said.

He, however, said that the case fatality rate (CFR) has been much higher in the second wave with respect to the first wave. “Even doctors are foxed with the number of deaths. The new variant of the virus is like a silent killer, which took the lives of patients within a matter of hours in some cases. The CFR of the district, which was nearly 0.35% during the first wave (91 deaths out of 26,100 cases), has mounted to 0.90% with 311 deaths out of 34,547 cases,” he said.

Echoing similar views, a doctor of the district health department said that the second wave has affected age groups differently. “As per the internal data of the district, there has been a huge increase in the infection rate among young people, from 31% in the first wave to 39% in the second wave. In the first wave, the majority of infected patients were the elderly with multiple comorbidities. But, in the second wave, the trend has completely shifted, where the younger generation was more infected,” the doctor said, requesting to not be identified.

Dr Akash Raj, the medical director of Super Specialty Paediatric Hospital and Post Graduate Teaching Institute (SSPHPGTI), better known as Child PGI, said that the virus seems to have acquired a greater transferability. “The entire spectrum of age groups – from the paediatric to the geriatric population – everyone is getting affected now. Predominantly, it is because the virus has changed its form and it is far more infectious. Every other person now has Covid-19, which was not the case last year,” he said.

Dr Saurav Srivastava, the head of medicine and the in-charge of the L-3 Covid-19 facility at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), also said that any concrete reason behind younger people being infected can only be ascertained through in-depth studies and analysis. “However, all we can say is that ever since social restrictions were eased, it is the younger generation which has stepped out to go to work and indulged in social gatherings, and consequently flouted precautionary measures. We all have to continue to practice Covid-19 precautions, like social distancing, masking and hand-washing. We also suggest our patients to stay in touch with local doctors, who can provide information if Covid-19 cases begin to increase in their localities,” he said.