Chandigarh’s tally surpasses 1,000 mark

355 ACTIVE CASES 55% of total 1,016 cases surfaced in July alone; 14 dead so far

CHANDIGARH : The steady rise in Covid-19 cases through July pushed the city’s tally beyond the 1,000 mark on Thursday with 38 fresh infections.

It took just three weeks in July for the cases to double from 500 to 1,016, even as the last 100 cases were added in just three days.

The 38 new cases include a doctor from PGIMER and two undertraining police constables at the Sector 26 police lines.

Out of the total 1016 cases, 355 remain active. As many as 647 patients have been discharged, while 14 have succumbed to the virus. As many as 558 cases cropped up in July alone.

Dhanas and Manimajra have the maximum active cases at 36 and 35, respectively. Along with Ram Darbar, which has 15 cases, the three areas account for 25% of the city’s active cases.

Apart from Bapu Dham Colony, Dhanas and Manimajra are the only two areas with over 50 cases since the outbreak of the virus in March. Bapu Dham Colony, which has been the worst-affected, alone has confirmed two deaths and 263 cases, which are 25% of the city’s total cases. The colony still has 11 active cases.

Thursday’s cases were reported from Sectors 10, 11, 12, 15, 25, 26, 33, 38, 39, 40, 46, 48 and 52, besides PGIMER campus, Dhanas, Mauli Jagran, Manimajra, Kishangarh, Burail, Khuda Lahora and Khuda Jassu.

SUDDEN SPURT IN CASES

While the city remained under curfew from March 24 to May 3,

the borders were reopened for inter-city travel on June 8, which was followed by a sudden spike in cases.

Inter-state CTU bus services were suspended soon after. The administration continues to impose night curfew from 10pm

to 5am, while its request for a weekend curfew in the tricity from Friday night to Monday morning was recently turned down by Haryana and Punjab.

Schools, colleges, apni mandis, multiplexes, swimming pools and gyms remain closed, while religious

places and shopping malls are permitted to operate with safety precautions. Public dealing at municipal corporation offices and UT Secretariat continues under strict Covid-19 protocol.

Wedding events are permitted with a gathering of only up to 50 persons. OPDs at major government hospitals, including PGIMER and GMCH, Sector 32, remain suspended to avoid mass spread of infection, while markets and restaurants remain open from 10am to 9pm.

Only cases with urgency are taken up at the Punjab and Haryana high court and district courts via video conferencing.