Gurugram crosses 50k-mark in Covid-19 cases

The total tally of Covid-19 cases in Gurugram crossed the 50,000-mark on Tuesday. Data shows that 19,065 of the total infections were recorded in November – the

The total tally of Covid-19 cases in Gurugram crossed the 50,000-mark on Tuesday. Data shows that 19,065 of the total infections were recorded in November – the highest-ever increase in a single month since the outbreak of the pandemic.

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November’s tally is nearly 52% higher than the 9,091 new cases confirmed in October and 54% higher than the 8,699 cases recorded in September. Due to the upsurge in Gurugram as well as the neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR) districts, Haryana is now among the five states in the country with the highest active case load.

Health officials, however, point out that in the last three days, new infections, which was growing at an unprecedented rate since the first week of November, has come down to less than 500 a day, thereby pointing towards the fact that the infection might have reached a plateau.

Officials say police enforcement on mask discipline has increased and the crowd at weddings, political and religious gatherings has also been restricted in the district to 50 people for indoor events and 100 for outdoor ones. The police have deployed 550 personnel in residential areas where maximum violations of mask rule in public places have been reported, officials.Around 2,000 people across the city have been fined for not wearing masks.

According to the district health bulletin, 495 new infections of SARS-CoV-2 virus confirmed on Tuesday took the total count to 50,087. Out of these, active cases, including home isolated or hospitalised patients, stands at 6,092. The Covid-19 toll reached 297, with five people succumbing to the illness on Tuesday.

In the last few days, new cases have shown a slight decline, with a corresponding dip in the test positivity rate. From 18% in the first week of November, it has come down to less than 10% in the last week of November. On an average, 635 new cases were confirmed each day in November. However, from November 29, daily figures have hovered between 479 and 495.

In tackling the situation, the health department is still continuing with nearly 6,000 tests a day, with a higher percentage of gold front-line Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction(RT-PCR) test than the rapid antigen tests. Over 1.6 lakh tests were administered last month, with record 25,000 tests in single a day on November 28. Thereafter, the testing numbers have fluctuated between 5,750 and 5,504. Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, said, “We will continue with increased testing till the overall test positivity rate comes down to seven percent. Our focus is on timely contact tracing tobreak the chain of transmission.”