September accounted for 65% Covid casualties in Chandigarh tricity

In comparison to 41 deaths in August, Chandigarh witnessed 106 deaths in September, though new cases started declining after a major surge in mid-September

September has proven to be the worst month so far for the tricity with regard to Covid-19, accounting for 77%, 64% and 59% of the total deaths in Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mohali, respectively, and 65% overall.

In comparison to 41 deaths in August, Chandigarh witnessed 106 deaths in September, though new cases started declining after a major surge in mid-September. The record was set on September 13 with 449 cases while highest number of active cases (3,171) was reported on September 16.

In fact, 61% (7,266) of the total cases were reported in September, while only 3,267 surfaced in August. The number of tests also went up from 16,048 to 45,452.

UT health secretary Arun Kumar Gupta said: “Now, the cases are coming down and also the number of contacts, and the situation seems to be stabilising. For patients in home isolation, we are developing a protocol so that can reach hospital in time.”

Panchkula district, too, witnessed the highest number of deaths (66) in September, up from 18 in August. In fact, only two people had died till July 31.

The month also witnessed 3,762 new cases, more than double the cases in August (1,669) and 63% of the total (5,992). While the cases saw a surge, the authorities also doubled the number of tests (66,603 from 33,602). The district also has the highest number of active cases per lakh population, when compared with other parts of Haryana.

Dr Jasjeet Kaur, civil surgeon, Panchkula, said: “In September, we were in the middle of the peak of Covid-19. In the last week, there was some respite, but still the situation is unpredictable.”

On the high number of deaths, she said: “This is in proportion to the number of cases reported. Also, most of them were critical with co-morbidities, many continued self-medication, and reported to the hospitals quite late.”

In Mohali, 114 people died in September, up from 63 in August. The number of fresh cases stood at 7,556 as compared to 2,831 in August, and accounted for 73% of the total tally.

Around 60% (116) of the total (194) deaths reported so far were of senior citizens. As many as 85% had either hypertension or diabetes.

Mohali civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said: “Extensive sampling and strict home quarantine has saved Mohali from community spreading. We are facing a rise in cases because of outsiders arriving in the district. Their home quarantine is preventing further spread.”

No scope for complacency

Professor Rajesh Kumar, former head of the community medicine department, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, said it appears the region, including Chandigarh, has achieved the peak of cases, but warned that complacency could take the graph of infections up again.

“There is a lag of one week to two weeks between the peak of cases and deaths. So what we can gather from local data is that most cases came around mid-September, so fatalities due to that surge will continue to come for a few more days,” he said.

Dr Yogesh Chawla, former PGIMER director, said infected persons in home isolation should monitor for signs and symptoms so that they can reach hospitals well in time and fatalities can be decreased.

“Deaths should not take place due to delay in treatment and hospitalisation, and we need to keep a check on this when cases see a surge. For such a scenario, pulse oximeters are important for home isolated persons to monitor the oxygen saturation level and the robust system should be available for dealing with urgencies,” he said.