Rural Ggm better off than urban areas: Health dept

Gurugram Health department officials on Sunday said that Covid cases are controlled in rural areas when compared to urban areas of the district

Gurugram Health department officials on Sunday said that Covid cases are controlled in rural areas when compared to urban areas of the district.

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Dr Jai Prakash, Integrated Disease Surveillance Program’s district surveillance officer in Gurugram, said, “Covid-19 situation in rural areas of Gurugram, especially in places like Sohna, Bhondsi and Pataudi, is better off and controlled as compared to urban areas. This is mainly because of lesser population density, which makes it possible for people to follow social distancing. Another possible reason is that people do not go out much in rural areas, except for work, which will also be curtailed now due to the lockdown.”

He was, however, unable to provide a break-up of the number of cases in rural and urban areas.

Meanwhile, Sohna residents said that cases are increasing in rural areas, with four deaths reported from different villages over past one week.

“Cases are regularly increasing in rural areas near Sohna. In the past one week, four people died from different villages here, but those were not recorded in official figures. There is neither any focus on testing or vaccination in these areas and people have been left on their own. If the situation in rural areas becomes like how it is in Gurugram city, then there is no way to control it,” said a resident of Sohna, who did not wish to be named.

With new cases rising daily, officials from the district health department said that they are focusing on testing, and that centres will be increased in both urban and rural areas.

Dr Virendra Yadav, chief medical officer of Gurugram, said, “Our district is conducting the maximum tests in the state, and in the coming days, we will be increasing testing capacities further. We have decided to set up 250 testing centres across the district over the 15 days. Cases are being reported from across the district and we are focusing on testing now, despite our health infrastructure being saturated.”

The chief medical officer further said that a minimum of 18 testing camps are functional in the district on a daily basis.