Cases rise, but Noida manages to keep fatality rate below 1%

NOIDA: At 3,010 (till Wednesday), Noida has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state, but its fatality rate (0.99%) is one of the lowest among 29 cities that have reported 3,000-plus cases so far.

The only two districts that have a lower case fatality rate (CFR) are Hyderabad (0.09%) and Kamrup Metropolitan in Assam (0.18%), which includes Guwahati area.
But the Covid situation in all three districts has been different. Telangana had the lowest testing rate in the country for a very long time and it scaled up the procedure only around mid-June following a high court directive. This led to a sudden surge in cases.
Kamrup district or Guwahati has a lower population density and cases increased there only after migrant workers started returning home. What may have kept the numbers in check is that the government imposed strict containment measures, such as extending the lockdown in Guwahati till July and restricting inter-district movement. Restrictions on movement through the border with Delhi have been in place in Noida and Ghaziabad, too. But several categories are exempt, such as healthcare workers and government employees, many of whom have been the source of infection.
While Delhi now has a CFR of 3.06%, Gurgaon has 1.59%, Faridabad 1.96%, and Ghaziabad 2.41%. But Noida, at 0.99%, has succeeded in keeping the death rate low and prevented patients from turning critical.
The first case in Noida was reported as early as March 5 and the number continued to rise steadily through March and April. However, Noida witnessed the first death due to Covid-19 only on May 8, about two months after the outbreak. The total number of cases by then was 214, with a recovery rate of 55.6%.
Cases increased rapidly, but the recovery rate remained consistent, too. By the end of May, it touched around 80%.
But as lockdown restrictions eased towards the latter half of June and Noida started a drive to test 4,000 samples daily, the number of cases saw a sudden spike. Till the end of May, the weekly rise in cases was in double digits. However, since June 1, over 200 cases are being added to the district’s tally every week. But testing in Noida has picked up only towards the latter part of June. From testing 500 samples a days in June, Noida now has a daily target of 4,000.
With further increase in testing, half of Noida’s 3,000-plus Covid cases have been reported in just the past two weeks. To put the numbers into perspective, it took 16 weeks for the first 1,400 cases to be reported in the district.
Officials attributed the low fatality rate to early detection and isolation of patients and managing comorbid conditions. “The testing numbers were not very high initially. Ideally speaking, everyone should be tested, but we have limited resources and we tested qualitatively better. We focused on the hotspots, primary contacts, those with ILI and SARI symptoms and with comorbid conditions. This is why we always had a higher number of cases. But we also imposed strict control measures. After testing positive, patients were immediately isolated to prevent the spread of the infection. Fortunately, we still have enough resources at all levels,” said Suhas LY, the DM.