Amit Bathla

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 11

With just one case emerging from the district and five people recovering from the infectious disease on Sunday, the number of active Covid-19 cases now stands at 20 — a first since the first week of July last year.

It was on July 6 when the number of active cases was exactly 20 last time. Of the124 patients reported till then, 104 had won the battle against the virus.

The district has witnessed a significant downfall in the number of active cases in the last two months, marking a massive turnaround in its battle against coronavirus.

The healthcare system of the district was struggling to cope with the unprecedented rise in daily fresh cases between the end of March and the end of May, with the active caseload once almost touching the 3,000 mark.

On May 11, as high as 2,988 people in the district were battling the virus. Amid the devastating second wave, all Covid beds in both private and public sectors were occupied, and doctors were facing an unprecedented workload while crematoriums were running out of space.

The issue even led to the suspension of Panchkula CMO Dr Jasjeet Kaur for her alleged failure to arrange a Covid bed on the instructions of state Health Minister Anil Vij.

District sees 15 cases, no death in past 7 days

The district saw just one fresh Covid-19 case on Sunday, the fourth day in a row when it recorded two or even less than 2 cases. Over the past week, the district added 15 fresh cases to the tally at an average of less than three cases each day. Meanwhile, no one died of the Covid-19 infection in the past week.

On a substantial fall in the number of active cases in the past two months, Civil Surgeon Dr Mukta Kumar said, “We can’t really say for how long the same trend will go on.” Urging people to still remain cautious and follow the Covid-appropriate behaviour, she said Covid infections were still rising in many states of the country and regions across the world in a clear indication that the pandemic was far from over.