Pune sees more Covid cases and deaths in Aug than in June

PUNE Even as the state government is contemplating a night curfew due to rising cases, the city is showing early signs of a third Covid surge

PUNE Even as the state government is contemplating a night curfew due to rising cases, the city is showing early signs of a third Covid surge.

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The night curfew is especially being considered in Kerala which has a spike in Covid cases following the Onam festivities there this month.

Although Pune city is reporting a lower positivity rate and restrictions have been eased, August saw a slight surge in the number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths reported by district authorities.

August saw more Covid-19 cases and deaths than June, as per data from the district health office.

The first wave ended in February, however, post that, numbers continued to rise and peaked in April.

In June, the district reported 7,698 new Covid-19 cases and 135 deaths. This rose in July to 8,362 new Covid-19 cases and 2,283 deaths. The rise in cases could be because of the reconciliation process.

However, the number of new Covid-19 cases has once again risen in August, with 7,794 new cases and 143 deaths reported.

In August the city reported, on an average, 269 cases every day and 4.9 deaths on a daily basis, as of August 29.

Dr Subhash Salunkhe, state Covid-19 advisor said, “There is definitely crowding in the streets of the city now that everything has opened up. The fear of the virus is reversely proportional to the number of new Covid-19 cases and so, when the number of cases fall, people are careless about following Covid-appropriate behaviour. We have multiple major festivals lined up from here onwards and so we have to be more careful. The reason for more cases could also be due to high testing carried out by the PMC, which is essential for early isolation and early treatment.”