CHANDIGARH: The city on Sunday recorded the highest single-day
surge of 625 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic broke out in March last year, leading experts to predict such numbers for another few weeks, then a dip and a spike again.
“This is like the Spanish flu where surges came on and off. We need to learn to live with this virus. And, this is possible with Covid-appropriate behaviour,” said a public health expert in PGI, even as the last 18 days logged 6,678 cases and 33 deaths. Three people died of the virus on Sunday — a 52-year-old man from Sector 24 having respiratory distress syndrome, a 62- year-old diabetic woman from Sector 29 and a 28-year-old woman from Mauli Jagran suffering from respiratory distress syndrome and kidney problem — pushing the toll to 413.
According to estimates, 28,252 out of every 10 lakh people in Chandigarh have tested positive. The doubling rate, however, is over 100 days.
“This is community transmission. All the non-exposed people will be at risk of infection. One needs to be careful and follow the norms strictly,” said the expert.
The administration implemented weekend lockdown from April 17 after double mutant strain was reported in the city. “It will take a while to understand the effectiveness of this measure. However, there seems to be no scientific evidence behind night curfew,” said the expert.
In the last one week, the number of new
infections has grown by an average of 1.3% every day. The recovery rate is 90%. A total of 411 patients were discharged on Sunday, taking the recovery count to 29,896. Confirmed cases are 33,934, including 3,625 active cases.
“Even while we are seeing younger patients, including children, in severe category, most are recovering after a week or so. Things might change as there is a lot of unpredictability about this virus,” said a faculty member in PGI. The testing has been ramped up, with over 3,000 samples tested in a day.
Mohali:
Record 880 infections
Mohali reported a record 880 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the count to 36,073, including 6,211 active cases. Three patients died too, taking the toll to 502.
A total of 370 cases were from Mohali urban, 194 from Kharar, 136 from Dhakoli, 57 from Derabassi, 55 from Gharuan, 32 from Boothgarh, 20 from Lalru, 11 from Kurali and five from Banur. A total of 448 patients were discharged, pushing the recovery tally to 29,360