Gurgaon’s Covid death toll crosses 500

The cumulative death toll in Gurgaon due to Covid-19 crossed 500 on Monday, with 14 more people succumbing to the infection. The total count of mortalities due to Covid in the district is 511.

According to the district health bulletin, Gurgaon is inching closer to the 40,000-mark in terms of active cases, with 3,037 new cases being recorded on Monday. There are 37,244 active cases in the district.

The district, along with the rest of Haryana, has been seeing a massive rise in Covid cases in the last few weeks, recording more than 27,000 new cases in the last seven days alone, making the week between April 26 and May 2 the sixth week in a row where cases have surged.

According to data compiled from the district health bulletin, a total of 27,358 new Covid cases emerged in Gurgaon last week. In comparison, in the preceding week, 21,559 new cases had emerged. The rise in cases by 26.9 per cent, however, cannot be explained by any corresponding rise in the number of tests conducted in this period. The district health bulletins indicate that the number of tests conducted last week was only 3.26 per cent higher than in the preceding week, with 81,269 people being tested as opposed to 78,705 a week earlier.

The rise in the number of fatalities last week as compared to the rise in the week between April 19 and 25, similarly, cannot be explained by any corresponding rise in cases. The number of fatalities have seen a 33.3 per cent rise – from 51 deaths between April 19 and 25 to 68 deaths between April 26 and May 2 – while the number of new cases have risen only by 26.9 per cent.

“In order to prevent further spread of the pandemic, we are trying to motivate people to maintain proper social distancing, wash their hands properly and also participate in the vaccination process,” said Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg on Monday, speaking as vaccinations were opened to people between 18 and 44 years of age.

According to officials from the district administration, a total of 20 sites have been set up in Gurgaon to vaccinate people in this category.

“Only those people in the prescribed age group who have done online registration will be included in the coronavirus vaccination process. All of these sites will have Covishield vaccines,” said Garg.

In addition, officials said that 11 vaccination centres have also been created where people above the age of 45, and healthcare and frontline workers will be administered their second dose of the vaccination. Of these, Covishield is being administered at nine sites and Covaxin at two sites.

Vaccination has simultaneously also started at some private hospitals in Gurgaon, including Max hospital and Fortis Memorial Research Institute. At the latter, vaccination began on Sunday itself, ahead of other hospitals in the district.

“Fortis Memorial is the first private hospital in Gurgaon to start vaccination for the 18-plus age group. We are ecstatic that the vaccination drive has now been extended to the younger age group and we are able to cover a larger age group of people. This step will by and large help the society as a whole. With more people getting vaccinated, we are hopeful that it will help break the current cycle. This in turn will help in curbing the rate of positive cases,” said Dr Ritu Garg, zonal director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.

Arpita Mukherjee, VP operations and head, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Gurgaon, said, “By 6 pm, the hospital had already administered the jab to 500 people from across Gurgaon and nearby areas.”