Covid-19 claims 7 lives in Haryana, case tally 5,579
BIG SPIKE 217 cases in Ggm, but govt rules out community spread
CHANDIGARH: Haryana registered seven coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, taking the state’s toll to 52. Three patients from Faridabad, two from Gurugram and one each from Sonepat and Charkhi Dadri died. In the last 72 hours, 24 persons have succumbed to the respiratory illness in Haryana.
The state reported 370 fresh Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, pushing the tally to 5,579, a bulletin of the health department said.
The total number of active cases was 3,339 on Wednesday.
NCR districts Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonepat continued to be the biggest contributors to the state’s Covid-19 tally with 286 combined fresh cases, about 77% of the total count.
Replying to a query on whether community transmission has set in Gurugram, additional chief secretary, health, Rajeev Arora said 1,700 active cases against a population of three million in the district did not indicate community spread of the disease. “We were able to effectively control the spread of infection till May 17. However, we expected an increase in the number of cases once economic activity and transportation was resumed,” he added.
While Gurugram district reported 217 fresh cases, 41 infections were detected in Faridabad and 28 in Sonepat. The active cases in Gurugram were 1,709, more than 50% of the total such cases across 21 districts.
Among the other districts, Rohtak reported 23 fresh cases followed by Ambala (13), Jind (11), Charkhi Dadri (10), Fatehabad (6), Kurukshetra and Hisar (5 each), Panchkula, Nuh, Yamunanagar and Rewari (2 each), and Kaithal, Bhiwani and Sirsa (1 each). Karnal, Jhajjar, Panipat, Palwal and Mahendergarh did not report any new case on Wednesday as per the health bulletin. However, Karnal administration said eight people were tested positive for the virus, while one infection was detected in Panipat. Rohtak civil surgeon Dr Anil Birla said a 66-year-old man suffering from diabetes and another 48-year-old man from Sonepat died at PGIMS on Wednesday.
FROM 33 TO 118 IN 14 DAYS: INFECTION SURGE WORRIES KARNAL ADMN
KARNAL: A sudden spurt in the number of coronavirus cases has become a cause of worry for the Karnal administration. The district saw its tally rising from 33 to 118 in merely two weeks, besides registering a death.
Karnal deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav on Wednesday convened a meeting of all stakeholders, including nodal officers and senior doctors of Karnal medical college.
As per health officials, the cases increased soon after the government relaxed curbs on movement. District administration faced tough time in detecting infection as people having travel history to other states often showed reluctance in disclosing their details, officials said.
The administration has now issued directions and made it mandatory for the people coming from other states to disclose their travel history, or face criminal cases. Karnal DC said, “Cases increased after we started random sampling. We are testing around 250 people daily.”
“As many patients have a history of travel, we are encouraging people to disclose their details and get themselves tested if they develop any symptom,” he said.