71 new Covid cases in Gurgaon, positivity rate now 4.3%

GURGAON: The city reported 71 new Covid-19 cases on Friday taking the number of active cases to 299, of whom seven are being treated in hospitals. The positivity rate now stands at 4.36%, officials of the health department said.
The city has added more than 70 new cases for the third consecutive day. The new cases reported on Thursday and Wednesday were 75 with the positivity rate at 4.67% and 3.67%, respectively. A total of 1,627 Covid-19 tests were conducted on Friday.
Gurgaon reported 584 cases in March, 54 cases in February and 40 cases in January. The health department said that they are screening people for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) to detect Covid cases at the earliest. “We have analysed the cases and have not seen any severe symptoms. Most of the patients have fever and symptoms of influenza that include cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose and shortness of breath,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurgaon.
Doctors stressed that it is important that people follow the Covid protocol. Dr SK Chhabra, HOD, Pulmonary, Primus Super Speciality Hospital, said, “The rising number of Covid-19 infections serve as a stark reminder that we must remain vigilant to combat this pandemic. So far, we have 2-3 suspected cases, who have been sent for further investigation. The surge in cases can be attributed primarily to the XBB.1.16, sub-lineage of Omicron, which is capable of evading previous immunity. With each new case, a person, a family, or a community is affected. The positivity rate is very high in NCR but there is no need to panic. We have come a long way in our fight against the infection, but we cannot let our guards down. Together, we can protect ourselves and each other from this virus.”
Haryana reported 128 new cases on Friday and has a total of 499 active cases. The positivity rate is 3.6%. On Friday, the health authorities collected 3,081 samples for antigen and RT-PCR tests. Till now, over 10.5 lakh people have tested positive in the state since the pandemic began.
A total of 3,178 people got vaccinated in Haryana on Friday, of whom 369 got their first doses, 603 second doses and 2,206 precautionary doses. Haryana has witnessed a total of 10,714 Covid deaths till now.