Punjab projected to see 300% rise in Covid cases by month-end

CHANDIGARH: The virus transmission rate has ‘flared up’ in Punjab, and if the projections are correct, the caseload may rise by 300% by the end of this month.
After a two-month lull, the cases in the state started to rise post-Diwali with the state registering a growth of 4.2% on November 8 and kept on increasing for five consecutive days, touching 10.3% on November 13.
Punjab is among six states in the country that are currently witnessing a daily growth rate of more than 5%, as per the analysis done by Cambridge Judge Business School and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are the other states/UT of the list where the pandemic situation has deteriorated.
As per the report, Punjab reported 47 cases on November14, the count of which is expected to rise to 189 by November 27. After Jammu and Kashmir (374), Punjab will record the second highest number of cases among the states and UTs seeing flare-ups.
The uptick in the cases resulted in a rise in the R-value – rate at which Covid-19 or any other infection spreads -- which remained below the crucial threshold of 1 during the last few months.
Punjab R-value recorded at third highest in country
The value has now touched 1.5 which at the moment is the third highest in the country. Only Ladakh (1.70) and Rajasthan (1.60) have an R-value higher than Punjab. The national infection rate stands at 1.
The state health authorities have attributed the surge largely to spurt in activities around Diwali.As the festive season is far from over, instructions have been issued to all the districts to ensure that all the containment measures are implemented properly.Punjab Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar shared that all districts have been directed to increase testing and ensure strict enforcement of containment and management measures.
As per the average of the last seven days, Punjab conducted 1,048 tests per million population which is about 12% more than the national testing average of 929 and about 32% more than the average of the neighbouring state of Haryana.
MILD GROWTH IN HILL STATE
Himachal Pradesh is among the states recording growth in the number of daily cases. In the next two weeks, the state is projected to touch the figure of 133 cases.