Chandigarh is now nearing the “under control” rate (5 per cent) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. After a gap of at least four months, the weekly positivity rate of the city has plummeted to 5.6 per cent.
Chandigarh is now nearing the “under control” rate (5 per cent) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. After a gap of at least four months, the weekly positivity rate of the city has plummeted to 5.6 per cent.
In the week ending December 20, the UT saw 435 fresh Covid cases against 7,634 tests conducted, marking a positivity rate at 5.6 per cent. According to the WHO advisory issued in May, a positivity rate of less than 5 per cent for two weeks indicates that an epidemic is under control.
The preceding two weeks recorded 6.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent positivity rate, respectively. Against 5,924 tests in two weeks, 882 cases were reported. The city had earlier recorded a positivity rate of 5.3 per cent in the first week of July. In the October first week, the positivity rate had touched 15 per cent.
Earlier, experts in the city had predicted a second wave of Covid-19 in the wake of the festive season and the onset of the winter. However, the surge noticed during the festive season was not much greater in magnitude. It was presumed that the winter could lead to gatherings of people in closed spaces and virus sustaining in colder climate could result in an increase in cases. However, experts have now noticed that the winter season in the city has led to lesser mobility in the community, which has caused a decline in cases as well.
Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, Director, Health Services, UT, said: “The weekly positivity rate has gone down drastically to 5.6 per cent. Such a trend has been observed after a very long time. Once the positivity rate comes below 5 per cent, we can be sure of pandemic control in the city.”
Kang added: “The testing has also gone down in the recent days because fewer people are getting themselves tested voluntarily. Mobility has been reduced during the winter season. Our OPDs are also empty during the morning time due to cold weather.”
The percentage of active patients in Chandigarh is only 2 per cent, while 96.3 per cent patients have recovered from the disease. In the last week, the number of new infections has grown by an average of 0.3 per cent every day.
