The PCMC chief said Pimpri-Chinchwad's doubling rate has also gone up from 40-42 days to around 70 days. (Representational)AFTER a sudden surge during Ganesh festival, Covid-19 cases in Pimpri-Chinchwad have seen a drop, with the positivity rate falling from from 25-27 per cent earlier this month to 17 per cent by Wednesday.
While positive cases started rising at the beginning of August, by the end of the month, the twin city was reporting over 1,000 cases every day. Since the start of September, Pimpri-Chinchwad has registered between 1,000 to 1,300 cases every day.
However, from last Friday (September 18), the number of new cases every day has slipped below 1,000, with 843 cases reported that day. On September 19, 981 cases were reported, 749 cases on September 20, 655 cases on September 21, 798 cases on September 22, and 800 cases on September 23.
“During Ganesh festival and after… there was a sudden surge in cases. We were witnessing a positivity rate of 25-27 per cent. But from last Friday, the rate has started coming down. It is now around 17 per cent, which is similar to the rate seen before August,” Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar told The Indian Express.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Santosh Patil said in August, the PCMC was conducting 3,000-3,500 tests every day. “But this month, we have been conducting nearly 4,000 tests every day,” said Patil.
PCMC health officials said so far, nearly 3 lakh local residents have undergone Covid-19 tests, and about 72,400 have tested positive. “Nearly 1,190 patients have succumbed to the infection,” said a civic health official.
The PCMC chief said Pimpri-Chinchwad’s doubling rate has also gone up from 40-42 days to around 70 days.
Hardikar said the ‘My family, my responsibility’, campaign which has taken off this week, will cover over 24 lakh residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad. “The survey will help reduce the positivity rate as well as the mortality rate,” he said.
While launching the campaign across the state, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had asked civic bodies and district collectorates to make all possible efforts to control the surge and mortality rate of patients. “We will reach doorsteps to trace and treat local residents, especially suspected cases, seniors and those suffering from underlying conditions,” said a PCMC official.
Meanwhile, at the Nehrunagar jumbo facility, nearly 800 Covid-19 patients have been discharged.
The PCMC chief said the Nehrunagar jumbo facility, which has 816 beds, has become fully operational on Thursday. “… From Thursday, we have made 816 beds functional. As of Thursday, we had 352 patients on oxygenated beds and 30 on ventilators. The jumbo facility has 200 ICU beds which includes 80 ventilator beds. The rest are oxygenated and HDU beds,” he said, adding that the jumbo facility was now waiting for patients.
Hardikar said the jumbo facility has reported 145 deaths, which includes residents from Pimpri-Chinchwad as well as those from outside PCMC limits.
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