Covid deaths in Jaipur rise alarmingly

JAIPUR: Mortality rate due to Covid in Jaipur has more than doubled in August compared to the numbers in July. In the first eight days of August, deaths due to the virus has almost equaled the number of deaths reported in July.
It seems that mission Life Saving (LiSa) has weakened in the city in August, which was aimed at identifying Covid cases early from vulnerable categories such as elderly people, pregnant women, infants and patients suffering from underlying diseases such as chronic ailments of heart, liver, kidney and lungs.

In July, the city had reported 28 deaths, but in first eight days of this month, 27 deaths have already been reported. The mortality rate in July was 1.3%, which now has increased to 2.8%, which is more than double.
July was the best month in terms of preventing deaths due to Covid. In June, 69 deaths were reported, 59 in May and 32 in April. Despite, the city reporting the highest number of Covid cases in July, the health authorities and doctors managed to prevent deaths to report lowest mortality rate.
From July 20 to July 25, Jaipur reported not a single Covid death. It is the only week since April, when Jaipur reported no deaths due to the virus. But, health authorities failed to keep the record for long and in the next two weeks, it reported 37 deaths.
However, SMS Hospital doctors said there is a need for conducting death audit to find out what are the actual causes of spike in deaths in Jaipur. “The deaths which have happened in August should be audited to find out if more vulnerable category people have been infected and died,” said a SMS Hospital doctor.
Health authorities including health minister are continuously appealing to people to take proper precautions including wearing masks and following the norms of social distancing besides frequently washing hands with soap.
In the last 24 days, the cases have doubled. Cases in Jaipur are not being reported in clusters just like they had reported in Ramganj, Shastri Nagar, Ghat Gate and such areas. The cases are being reported from different areas. There are more than 100 places in the city, which have been reporting sporadic cases for the past few days. Since the cases are scattered all over the city, the district administration is imposing micro containment in the neighborhoods of places where a case is detected.