Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 16

For the first time in three months, Punjab has witnessed a slight decline in the number of active cases over the past five days.

Areas of concern

11,000 deaths during second wave

58% fatalities in rural areas against 30% cases reported there

On May 12, the number of active cases touched 80,000, the highest ever in the state. Since then, the cases have dipped, sliding to 75,478 on Sunday. In January, the number of active cases had fallen to 2,000. But with the onset of the second wave in February, the cases continued to increase for the next three months.

Among the districts, Ludhiana tops the chart with 12,832 active cases, followed by SAS Nagar (10,110), Bathinda (7,262), Jalandhar (5,474) and Amritsar (5,448). Barnala, SBS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib have 549, 831 and 849 cases, respectively.

Experts say the decline could be the outcome of the lockdown or the state hitting the peak. “But the next few days are crucial. If the count remain static, soon the number of daily cases will begin to decline as well.”

The biggest worry for the state is rural Punjab, where people are neither going in for vaccination nor testing. According to the state data, the mortality is higher in villages than in urban areas. Among over 11,000 deaths due to Covid during the second wave , 58 per cent have been registered in rural areas against around 30 per cent cases reported there.