E-Paper
Chandigarh tricity’s daily Covid cases shoot past 1,000 mark
Panchkula records 239 cases, the highest since the pandemic’s outbreak; Mohali clocks 456 infections, Chandigarh 314
The Chandigarh tricity area on Thursday crossed the grim milestone of 1,000+ Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak in March last year.
With 239 fresh infections, Panchkula also touched its all-time high since the beginning of the pandemic.
Of the 1,009 cases on Thursday, Mohali reported 456, a slight dip from Wednesday’s 481, while Chandigarh’s cases also dropped from 399 to 314.
Eight days into April, Chandigarh has recorded around 3,400 cases and 10 deaths, including that of a 70-year-old man from Sector 37 on Thursday.
The city has repeatedly figured in Union health ministry’s list of places of concern amid the recent surge in infections.
Its cumulative cases stand at 29,521, of which 3,115 (10.5%) patients are still infected – just 56 short of the peak in September. As many as 26,017 (88%) patients have recovered against the national average of 91.6%, while 389 patients have died.
Panchkula’s tally has reached 14,292. The district has 1,167 (8%) active cases, while 12,969 (90.7%) persons have been discharged and 156 have succumbed to the virus. Among these, April accounts for two deaths and 1,263 cases.
Mohali’s active cases soar to 4,464
The fresh cases in Mohali took the total to 29,974, of which 4,464 (14.9%) cases are active – the highest since the pandemic broke out.
Also, after seven deaths on Wednesday, the district witnessed two more casualties on Thursday, pushing its toll to 467, the highest in the tricity.
Amid the recent surge, the district has recorded 3,281 cases and 34 deaths so far in April, while in March, 6,315 cases and 48 deaths were reported.
As many as 218 of Thursday’s cases were reported from Mohali’s urban areas, followed by 107 in Dhakoli, 39 each in Dera Bassi and Kharar, 28 in Gharuan, 11 in Boothgarh, seven in Lalru, four in Kurali and three in Banur.
Meanwhile, with 267 patients being discharged, the number of recoveries reached 25,043 (83.5%).
‘Threat of infection very real’
Making an earnest appeal to the community not to lower the guard and join the vaccination drive, Dr Surinder S Pandav, chairman, Covid-19 Vaccination Committee, PGIMER, said, “With the cases again surging again at a much faster pace, there is absolutely no room for complacency. Covid-19 has not gone away as was generally presumed and the threat of getting infected is very much real. Those above 45 should prioritise getting vaccinated. But, one must ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour even after getting the shot, as it takes time to develop antibodies against the virus.”
