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Worrying Covid-19 situation in MP as July witnesses more patients than March to June
The situation has gone from bad to worse in the state from lockdown to Unlock period with 132 new Covid-19 patients being identified every day on average till June 30 from March 20 when the first four patients were identified in Jabalpur.
Madhya Pradesh has registered as many as 14,207 new patients of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in July till Sunday, which is more than the cumulative figure of 13,593 reported between March 20 and June 30.
The death toll in the state is equally worrying as more than nine patients of the coronavirus disease died every day in July on average, a figure that was more than five till June 30, according to the health department’s bulletins.
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The situation has gone from bad to worse in the state from lockdown to Unlock period with 132 new Covid-19 patients being identified every day on average till June 30 from March 20 when the first four patients were identified in Jabalpur.
This number shot up to more than 546 patients every day in July on average or an increase of 313.63% patients daily.
Till June 30, the number of Covid-19 patients who died was more than five per day on an average, 5.55 to be precise. It rose to more than nine patients in July every day or an increase of 65.58% daily.
The week-wise toll in July also suggests an aggravating situation with an average of seven deaths per day in the first week. In the second week, the average was almost the same but in the third week, the figure shot up to 12 deaths per day and in the past eight days, it was 13 deaths daily on average.
Based on data from March 20 to July 26, the death rate has come down to 3.19% as of Sunday night against 4.20% as on June 30 but this is primarily because the number of Covid-19 patients has been increasing alarmingly.
At the same time, the recovery rate has come down to 68.82% as of Sunday night from 76.47% as was registered on June 30. Similarly, the active cases which stood at 2,626 on June 30 night alarmingly rose to 7,857 on Sunday night.
The grim situation drove the state government to announce a 10-day long lockdown in the state capital of Bhopal, where it has gone from bad to worse, while authorities in Gwalior and Morena clamped curfew in the cities.
“What is worrisome is the fact that the number of deaths has alarmingly gone up in July despite more and more awareness in public about the disease as compared to the first couple of months when the state government cited late arrival of patients in hospitals for the death rate being on a higher side,” Amulya Nidhi, a public health expert, said.
“This is when the states like West Bengal, Gujarat and not to say of Kerala have shown marked improvement in their situation,” he added.
He also pointed out that the government claims to have ramped up its testing facilities in the past four months or so and upgraded its health facilities and even launched a Kill Corona campaign in July for a door to door survey across the state.
“This situation demands the immediate intervention of the central government to look into the problem areas in the entire state from the state government to the grassroots level.”
SR Azad, another public health expert, said lockdown or curfew will be of no help unless the state government chalks down a comprehensive plan and implements it “strictly and honestly from the state level to the ward and village level”.
“At the same time, the community participation in the government’s plan is a must which is lacking so far. It is all bureaucratic approach with which the government is working,” Azad said.
Dr Prabhuram Chaudhary, the state’s health minister, said the government’s priority is to control the spread of coronavirus disease in every district.
“We have increased the number of Covid tests significantly. Coupled with this the fever clinics have also helped. Now, more and more people are being identified and treated,” Chaudhary said.
“We are reviewing the situation of each and every district under the leadership of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. My appeal to all the people is to follow social distancing norms and other safety norms,” the minister said.
