179 new cases, tricity’s another grim milestone
Mohali’s Covid-19 count hits 1,119 with highest surge of 68 infections; 57 fresh cases in UT, 54 in P’kula
CHANDIGARH/MOHALI/PANCHKULA:
With 179 new Covid-19 cases, the tricity on Thursday recorded the sharpest spike in a day so far.
This last happened only a day before on Wednesday with 143 cases, reflecting no let-up in the spread of infection.
Mohali, with 68 fresh cases, also saw the steepest surge within 24 hours, which took the tally to 1,119.
This is also the highest number of Covid cases any of the tricity towns have recorded till now. Panchkula confirmed 65 cases on July 21, while Chandigarh’s highest count remains 64.
Since the very first case on March 18, the tricity’s Covid count has soared to 3,262 in four months, with 1,363 cases still active (42%). As many as 40 people have succumbed to the virus.
FIRST CASE AT UT SECRETARIAT
An MC councillor, a A UT Secretariat employee, a Chandigarh Traffic Police ASI, a BSNL employee, an attendant at the EPFO office and two healthcare workers were among the 57 fresh Covid-19 cases reported in Chandigarh on Thursday.
The case tally has climbed to 1,327, highest in the tricity, with the number of deaths being 20, also the topmost fatalities in the three towns.
On the bright side, a record 62 patients were discharged on
Thursday, which took the number of recoveries to 777, leaving 529 active cases in the city.
A UT official said as the Secretariat employee, a clerk in the finance department, was found positive – the first case at the building – his workplace on the fourth storey’s mezzanine floor will be sanitised and his close contacts will be tested.
The fourth floor houses offices of top UT officials, including the home and finance secretaries.
The staffer’s father, who works in UT’S treasury office in Sector 17, has also tested positive.
The healthcare workers include a resident doctor at GMCH, Sector 32, and a hospital attendant at PGIMER. As many as 28 fresh cases are contacts of positive cases, while a Sector-26 man, who returned from abroad recently, has also been found infected. The remaining cases are from Sectors 8, 19, 22, 24, 26, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45 46 52 and 63, besides Manimajra, Ram Darbar, Dhanas, Bapu Dham Colony, Maloya and Burail.
MOST MOHALI CASES FROM KHARAR
Among the 68 new cases in Mohali district, 25 are from
Kharar sub-division, 21 from Dera Bassi and 22 from Mohali city.
Of the 1,119 confirmed cases,
625 patients have recovered and 17 have died. On Thursday, 26 patients were discharged, bringing down the active cases to 477.
Deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan, who reviewed the status of the pandemic with the health department officials on Thursday, said the Covid spike management plan was prepared ahead of time and had now been put into action.
Under the plan, besides Gian Sagar Hospital in Banur, the Covid Care Centre (CCC) at Chandigarh University, Gharuan, has been started with 200 beds for asymptomatic patients. “Another 800 beds can be pressed into use if needed. Another CCC will be set up in Dera Bassi. Private hospitals have been put on alert and told to reserve more beds for isolation cases,” he said, adding that a dedicated facility had been set up at the Mohali civil hospital for Covid-positive pregnant women.
Besides the infrastructure upgrade, antigen testing has been commenced, allowing availability of test results within 30 minutes.
P’KULA TALLY REACHES 816 WITH 54 CASES
Panchkula confirmed 54 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, 45 of them males.
Of the total 816 cases in the district now, 357 are active, while 456 patients have been discharged and three have died.
As many as 20 patients among the fresh cases are ITBP personnel aged between 30 and 42.
Eight new infections were reported from Raipur Rani, six from Kalka and four from Pinjore. Three patients each are from Sector 15 and Nawan Nagar, two each from Sector 7, Marranwala and Kishangarh, and one each from Sectors 8, 12, 25, and Billa village.