Prayagraj: Rising number of hotspots in Old City, posh areas adds to Covid fear

PRAYAGRAJ: The spurt in number of hotspots being identified in Old City and posh areas like Civil Lines and Georgetown in the past one week has posed as a new concern for health department which is already struggling to contain the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
The number of Covid-19 patients reported from these areas is higher than those reported from trans-Ganga and trans-Yamuna areas of the district.
From July 1 to 8, 141 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 in the city and over 90% of them were residents of either Old City or upscale localities like Civil Lines, Tagoretown, Georgetown and Lukerganj.
The rise in number of novel coronavirus cases has put a dent in Prayagraj district's recovery rate - which dropped from 72% to 67% in July.
According to data released by health department, 437 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the city by Wednesday night. Of these, 294 patients have recovered and have been discharged, while 14 have succumbed to the disease so far. Till Wednesday, the number of active cases in the city was 129.
Health department data shows that on July 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7 and 8 was 10, 16, 31, 22 ,27, 22, five and eight cases were reported respectively.
Of the eight Covid-19 patients diagnosed on Wednesday, seven were from city-based localities, while one was from Handia in trans-Ganga part of the district. On Tuesday, four of the five new cases were from city areas, while one was from Naini in trans-Yamuna part of the district. On Monday, all 22 patients diagnosed with the disease were from city areas.
Areas like Khushhal Parwat, Salori, Triveni Bandh, Meerapur, Old Baihrana and North Malaqa have been declared as new hotspots in Prayagraj within the past 48 hours.
Nodal officer and additional chief medical officer Dr Rishi Sahai said, "Most of the new cases in the first eight days of July this year were reported from Old City and upscale areas. Most of them contracted the infection as they were primary contacts of a patient."
Sahai added that a large number of these patients were asymptomatic and were aged between 21 and 45 years.