New cases in Rajkot continue to decline, testing down nearly 50%

Rajkot: After nearly a month, some positive signs were seen in Rajkot as the number of new cases started declining since May 1. Though the dip in fresh cases was small, but it was an indicator that the situation was under the control of the health department.
Another indicator of fall in cases is that the number of tests being conducted daily has nearly halved compared to that in April.
Doctors and health experts believe that the decline was because of various reasons including people strictly following Covid norms fearing infection and subsequent health complications. Problems faced people over non-availability of beds and oxygen supply in hospitals too has made people more cautious.
According to Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), from April 10 to 30 the daily test conducted were between 11,000 and 13,000 (both antigen and RT-PCR). During the same period, people testing positive was between 500 to 700 per day.
Since the first week of May, the number of tests have come down to about 7,000 per day and the number of new infections too has gone below 400 in RMC areas.
RMC health officer Lalit Vaja said, “The number of cases have declined and so has the number of tests. Our team traces all those who have come in contact with a Covid positive patient and do antigen test on them. If the test is negative but the person has some Covid-like symptoms they are referred to our two facilities for RT-PCR tests.”
There are five private laboratories conducting RT-PCR tests, besides and the PDU Hospital.
Dr. Niraj Mehta, a Rajkot-based pulmonologist said, “The Covid-19 patients in OPD too have decreased by 30%. In April, a number of families got infected, so now there is less room for the virus to infect new persons. Also, the increase in awareness among people about the precautions to be taken is also a factor behind the fall in new cases.”
President of Rajkot Medical Association Dr Praful Kamani, said, “There were numbers of deaths because of Covid-19 related complications in the last one month. This has lead to fear among people who have now become extra cautious. They have started wearing masks, have stopped going outside their home unnecessarily. Moreover, people immediately get themselves tested even if they have minor symptoms.”
He added that night curfew and other daytime curbs too have added to fall in new cases.