Showing no major signs of receding so far, the daily Covid-19 deaths plunged to three on Tuesday, a first in the past 48 days.
It was only on April 13 last that such a low number of deaths was reported in a single day, following which the figure had steadily risen, hitting the peak of 30 two days in a row, on May 10 and 11.
However, Tuesday’s toll pushed the district’s overall deaths past the 2,000 mark, making Ludhiana the first in Punjab to cross the number.
May deadliest since pandemic started
Since the pandemic claimed the first life in Ludhiana on March 29, 2020, May this year proved to be the deadliest, witnessing 624 deaths, which account for 31% of the 2,002 deaths till date.
While 2020 ended with Ludhiana losing 964 people to the contagion, in just five months this year, the toll has reached 1,038.
2021 had begun with 37 deaths in January. The number dropped to 28 in February, only to rise again in March that saw 115 deaths. As the second wave climbed relentlessly in May, the month saw fatalities surging by 170% from the 231 in April.
Contrary to the four-month gap (120 days) between the toll climbing from 750 to 1,000 mark from October 2 last year to January 30 this year, it took just 11 days for the number of total deaths to cross the 1,750 count from 1,500.
{{/usCountry}}Contrary to the four-month gap (120 days) between the toll climbing from 750 to 1,000 mark from October 2 last year to January 30 this year, it took just 11 days for the number of total deaths to cross the 1,750 count from 1,500.
{{/usCountry}}For the toll to touch 2,000 from the 1,750 mark, it took just two weeks’ time, while it had taken 79 days for the deaths to climb from the figure of 1,000 to 1,250 and 18 days to reach 1,500 from 1,250.
222 test positive as cases decline further
On a positive note, the daily cases dropped further to 222, keeping up with downward trend noticed since the curfew was enforced in the district on May 10.
The number of daily active cases also fell below 4,000 for the first time in 45 days, with 3,916 patients still fighting the infection. Among them, 45 patients are on ventilator support.
The fresh cases took the tally to 84,337, of which 78,419 patients have recovered.
The three people who died on Monday included a 28-year-old woman from Sahnewal, a 65-year-old woman from Pratap Nagar and a 66-year-old man from Khanna.
Even though the cases are declining, deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma cautioned residents that there was no room for complacency and everyone must adhere to wearing masks and maintaining social distance at all times. “It is good news that the daily deaths have finally started to show a downturn, but so many people have died in the last one month. Times have been tough for all due to the restrictions and struggle to get admission in hospitals,” he said.
Black fungus claims another life
Mucormycosis (black fungus) claimed one more life in the district during the last 24 hours, taking the total casualties in the district to nine. But, no fresh case was reported on Tuesday. The deceased was from another district and was undergoing treatment at a city hospital.
As many as 78 black fungus cases have been reported in the district till now, of which 33 are from Ludhiana. Out of the nine fatalities, two belonged to Ludhiana and the remaining were from other districts and states.