People above 45 years old queue up for second dose of Covid Vaccine, in Sector 31, Gurgaon, Haryana. (Express Photo: Abhinav Saha) Amid a recent surge in Covid cases in Gurgaon, the additional chief secretary (ACS) health, Haryana, held a review meeting with the district health department and district administration officials in Gurgaon on Friday. The ACS directed officials to ramp up testing to more than 3,000-3,500 tests a day and increase vaccination by setting up camps in schools for children above the age of 12 years.
Gurgaon on Friday reported 150 cases of Covid, taking the active Covid caseload in the city to 589. A total of 2,588 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, according to data from the district health bulletin. In the last week, Gurgaon has reported 761 Covid cases, prompting the health department to be in a state of preparedness for a possible spike in the coming days. Officials though said that with hospitalisations low – 2 patients hospitalised in Gurgaon – the situation was under control.
Rajeev Arora, ACS health, said, “We held a meeting to take stock of the situation after a slight rise in cases over the past few days. We have decided to ramp up testing to 3,000-3,500 tests per day to ensure early detection and stop the spread and chain of infection. Directions have been given to increase vaccination for children and for people awaiting their booster doses.”
Covid cases have witnessed a spurt after the Haryana government had recently said that wearing face masks in public places and workplaces was no longer mandatory and removed fines for not wearing masks. The government had lifted all Covid related restrictions earlier in February.
After the removal of restrictions, the testing numbers had reduced in Gurgaon with fewer than 1500 tests being conducted in a day. On Wednesday, after a meeting of the district task force committee, the Gurgaon deputy commissioner had said that they had recommended that masks be made mandatory in Gurgaon and Faridabad citing a spike in cases.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation. We have advised people to adhere to Covid appropriate behaviour, maintain social distancing and wear masks as a precaution, especially in crowded areas. But, it is not mandatory as of now,” said Arora.
He added that the health department should keep a watch on the testing process of private labs and ensure that only patients with symptoms of Covid are being tested. ACS also reviewed the status of ICU beds, PSA plant, availability of oxygen cylinders and vaccination camps in the district.
Dr Virender Yadav, civil surgeon, Gurgaon said that the health department is starting ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ – a door-to-door campaign – from April 19 to increase vaccination coverage in the district.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
