PATNA: The number of new Covid-19 cases is increasing more in urban than the rural areas in the state with each passing day. More than 80% of the
total active cases in
Patna district are reported from the state capital, followed by other blocks which are urban in nature.
Experts cited travelling as one of the major reasons for more Covid-19 cases in urban areas compared to the villages. Since airports, railway stations and bus stops are located in the cities, people coming from outside the state reach here first before moving to other places. Congestion is another reason for easy spread of the virus in urban areas.
“Patna is a major commercial hub. Also, secretariat is located here and many people come for official work,” an official said.
Patna civil surgeon Dr Vibha Singh said, “Social distance is not being maintained and some people are still violating the norms without understanding the consequences.”
The health department’s data till Friday showed the state had total 2,362 active cases, out of which 958 were in the Patna district. Further bifurcation of this data revealed that in Patna district, out of total 958 active cases, 789 were in the state capital alone. Hence, these active cases in the capital account for 82.35% of the total active cases in Patna district.
After the city, the next highest number of active cases in Patna district were in Phulwarisharif block (48), Danapur (39), Barh (19), Sampatchak (14), Punpun (8), Paliganj (7) and Dhanarua (7). These are the data till Friday evening.
Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh said localities under Patrakar Nagar, SK Puri, Shastrinagar and Rupaspur have more active cases. He further said there were 52 containment zones in Patna till Saturday afternoon and this number was expected to increase by the evening.
Singh said on Saturday they had also flagged off 14 vehicles, which have a mike system with flying quad for creating awareness regarding the Covid-19 protocols. These squads will also charge fine from those found violating the norms. “Any shop or commercial place found violating the norms will be seized,” he added.