E-Paper
Seven more succumb to Covid-19 in Ludhiana
It is after 15 days that the district has witnessed so many Covid deaths in a span a day. On November 1, eight people had lost their battle to the contagion, the highest single-day casualties reported in this month so far.
Two days after Diwali, Ludhiana witnessed a sudden spurt in Covid deaths, sending health department officials in a tizzy. As per the officials, seven people have succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours.
It is after 15 days that the district has witnessed so many Covid deaths in a span a day. On November 1, eight people had lost their battle to the contagion, the highest single-day casualties reported in this month so far.
With the fresh deaths, the district’s toll for the month of November has gone up to 48.
Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga, however, said that it is too early to say if the second wave has begun as there was not much increase in cases. “The positivity rate is stable but we will look into the reason behind the casualties,” he said.
The dead include a 64-year-old male from Jamalpur Awana, a 75-year- old male from Jagraon, a 53-year-old female from Kot Mangal, a 49-year-old female from Umedpur Sahnewal, a 48- year-old female from Model Gram Extension, a 70-year-old female from Chhawani Mohalla, a 55-year-old male from Azad Nagar.
84 test positive
As many as 84 persons tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative count of cases to 21, 488. As many as 19, 865 persons have recovered so far.
Deputy commissioner Varinder Sharma said the district currently has 753 active cases and added that efforts are on to prevent fresh infections.
He added that in all, 97 patients tested positive in the last 24 hours. Of these 84 belong to Ludhiana while 13 are from other states and districts.
He further said that till date, a total of 4, 19, 284 samples have been taken, out of which reports of 4, 17, 886 samples have been received. As many as 3, 93, 409 test reports came back negative while 1,398 reports are still pending. He said that now, the total number of patients related to Ludhiana is 21, 488, while 2, 989 patients are related to other districts/states.
Ludhiana has so far lost 867 patients to the contagion.
The deputy commissioner further informed that till date, 48, 509 persons have been kept under home quarantine in the district and at present, the number of such persons is 1, 372. On Monday, 114 persons were sent into home quarantine.
Sharma said that whenever the district administration or health department finds out about any positive or suspected Covid patient, their samples are immediately sent for testing.
A month-by-month account of Ludhiana’s toll
In March, when the pandemic first broke out, Ludhiana recorded one death. The next month, i.e April, saw three more deaths followed by five fatalities in May. As the state borders reopened and the curfew restrictions reduced, the fatalities shot up to 12 in June. The situation worsened in July with 67 deaths, turning even more deadly in August when 323 deaths were recorded. The following month, September, remained equally bad with 330 deaths. In October, the fatalities began to dip and 97 deaths were reported. It is to be seen what November holds for the district, as it has already recorded 44 deaths in the first 16 days.
