Ghaziabad: After brief gap of three days, active Covid cases cross 1,000 mark yet again

Ghaziabad: After a brief period of three days, during which the number of active coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in Ghaziabad fell below 1,000, the number of active

Ghaziabad: After a brief period of three days, during which the number of active coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in Ghaziabad fell below 1,000, the number of active cases has again crossed the 1,000 mark. Ghaziabad is now among the four districts in Uttar Pradesh to have 1,000 or above active cases. Officials acknowledged that they have witnessed the trend and have directed for gearing up for any spike which may come around the festivals.

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The last time the Ghaziabad district had less than 1,000 active cases was on August 13, when the number stood at 984. Thereafter, there was a rise in cases and on October 29 the number of active cases came down to below the 1,000 mark after a gap of nearly 77 days.

However, the trend could continue only till October 31, and active coronavirus cases have gone up since November 1 when they stood at 1,041 and have remained above the 1,000 mark ever since.

According to the state control room records of November 4, active cases were at 1,146 in the district. Apart from Ghaziabad, the three other districts in UP – Meerut, Gautam Budh Nagar and Lucknow – have active cases more than 1,000, at 1498, 1443 and 3906, respectively, on November 4 as per the state control room figures.

“We are witnessing the trend of increase in cases and daily cases in Delhi are also rising. Since we have a major population chunk which travels to and from Delhi, there is a high probability that our cases are also likely to increase. Many of our localities like Vaishali, Kaushambi, Surya Nagar and Loni, etc. are very close to Delhi borders,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate.

“We have chalked out a ‘November action plan’ under which we have directed for resumption of L1 category hospitals, once there is a spike in the number of cases. Apart from these, it is also directed that ventilators and other equipment should be kept in ready condition. Apart from this, we already have about 900 beds in private hospitals. So, we have geared up but it is a must that people wear masks and adhere to social distancing during the festival season,” he added.

An increase in active cases means that there is a spike in fresh cases, outnumbering the number of patients discharged over a period of time. The Ghaziabad district had reached an all-time high figure of 2,126 active Covid-19 cases on September 14.

“There is much need for precautions to be taken by residents in times of festivals, as lapses could lead to spread of Covid-19 when too many people mingle with each other in markets. So, it is vital that they wear masks and adhere to social distancing norms,” said Dr VB Jindal, former president of Indian Medical Association – Ghaziabad.

Although the case tally has shown an increase, Ghaziabad has a better discharge rate – of about 93.56% – with 1,7890 patients discharged, out of a total 19,120 cases reported since March to November 4. The total also includes 84 deaths which have so far taken place in the district due to the coronavirus disease.

On November 4, the total cases in the district crossed the mark of 19,000. Out of these, the last 1,000 cases were reported in a span of nine days, with the 18,000 mark having been crossed on October 26.