War on Covid must go on in New Year: Experts

Over the past 10 months, Gurugram has witnessed nearly three Covid-19 waves since it reported the first case on March 16. The total tally has now reached 56,634

Over the past 10 months, Gurugram has witnessed nearly three Covid-19 waves since it reported the first case on March 16. The total tally has now reached 56,634 cases. From the first Covid-19 case reported in March — a 26-year-old woman who came back from Malaysia — to series of lockdown lasting for nearly 75 days, the city has witnessed several ups and downs while tackling the pandemic. At present, although the average daily cases have come down to nearly 243, health department officials believe that there may be another wave with the drop in temperature and the winter season setting in.

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In March, the Covid-19 cases were mostly linked with travel history. They were reported from the condominiums and residential societies. A couple of new infections were confirmed every day. On March 24, a complete national lockdown was announced for 21 days. During that time, Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as one of the Covid-19 hot spots due to a religious congregation, which allegedly acted as a superspreader event. Some of the people who attended the event were traced back to Gurugram through active police surveillance.

By April, the infection began spreading in crowded areas of the city. Covid-19 clusters started emerging,including Jharsa, Sirhaul, Dundahera, Jyoti Park, Khandsa and Sector 12, among others. In May alone, at least 713 new infections were recorded. It was the first wave of infection despite the lockdown getting extended, first till May 3 and then till May 17. But Gurugram, despite having the highest number of cases in Haryana, gained relaxations in lockdown, for being in the relatively safer “orange zone” category.

Rapid uptick in cases

The Covid-19 death count which was at least 15 in May drastically surged to 91 in June.The city was hard hit by a Covid-19 wave that month, with the total tally breaching the 1,000-mark on June 2. Within a month, more than 4,000 cases were confirmed, escalating the tally to almost 5,347. Cases were doubling every four days, indicating that the infection was spreading at a faster rate. Considering the surge, Delhi-Gurugram borders were sealed with only those having a movement pass issued by the district administration being allowed to commute between cities and states. In June alone, 86 deaths were confirmed, which is the highest till now in a month.

Likewise, the hospitalisation reached 567 — the highest so far. The bed capacity in private hospitals was raised from 600 to almost 1,428. At least 25% beds was reserved in 35 private hospitals. To tackle Covid-19 crisis in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) region was treated as a single unit by the union ministry of home affairs to maximise the bed capacity for Covid-19 in the region.

Unlock and rapid antigen testing

The downward trend in the test positivity rate started in July and August at a time when nearly 20-50% of the overall tests started being administered through rapid antigen kits. Although the test delivers test results in 30 minutes, it fails to give accurate results every time. Data shows that in July, out of the 71,167 tests administered, nearly 20% were through rapid antigen testing. It increased to almost 50% in August when the total tests declined to 63,132 cases.

Overall, by July-end, almost one lakh people were tested for Covid-19. During this time, the Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) emerged as a point of contact for all Covid-19 tests to increase the testing numbers. Camps were being organised in all 19 UPHCs. Cases in August crossed the 10,000-mark and at least 10 deaths were confirmed that month. As the rate of hospitalisation fluctuated between 77 to 378, the health department opened the first plasma bank at Rotary Blood Bank, Sector 10, to support seriously ill patients of Covid-19.

Third Covid-19 wave

Following the various phases of unlock, the festive season and poor mask discipline, Gurugram witnessed a third wave of infection from the end of September. At least 293 cases were confirmed every day that increased to 300 by October and 653 by November — the highest number of average positive cases in a day since the outbreak of pandemic. Testing was subsequently increased with more than one lakh tests being administered in a month. The antigen testing, however, came down to 20% with the more reliable RT-PCR or Rapid Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction tests taking precedence. In December, the positivity rate plunged from 12% to 5%. Meanwhile, the state government decided to administer maximum number of tests every Saturday. Increased testing, stricter enforcement of mask discipline and the end of the festivities led to the gradual decline in the number of cases, starting early December.

Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), Gurugram, said, “Another surge in Covid-19 cases can be expected. In order to bring it under control, it the department is continuing with increased testing in different areas of the city. Apart from routine testing, the number of testing camps has also increased.”

Even though Covid-19 is currently on the wane in Gurugram, with active cases coming down to almost 900, health department officials believe that the district can be hit once again by another wave, following a dip in temperature next month. The union ministry of health and family welfare has directed the state to keep a strict vigil on superspreader events, which might lead to an escalation in cases.