Covid spread in Punjab slows down further in November

State added less fresh cases and deaths as compared to previous month; health department rules out chances of second wave till third week of December

CHANDIGARH : Amid reports of a second Covid-19 wave hitting many states, Punjab has been able to contain the threat of the virus further i n November when it added less number of cases as compared to the previous months.

This was the second consecutive month in which state witnessed decrease in fresh cases.

The daily average of cases in November was 614 against 637 in October. In all, the state witnessed 18,433 cases in November against a total of 19,772 in October.

Also, the state’s total deaths due to the virus in November also came down to 604 as compared to 797 i n October, revealed an analysis of the state health department’s media bulletin.

The state witnessed the pandemic peak i n September. However, the number of active cases nearly doubled from 4,195 on November 1 to 7,842 on November 29.

The health department attributes this addition i n active cases to daily increase in cases in the past two weeks.

The state conducted 5.88 lakh tests in November at a daily average of 19,631, less than 7.78 lakh tests done in October at a daily average of 25,123.

November witnessed drop in testing despite chief minister Amarinder Singh’s ordersto ramp up the same to 30,000 a day.

As per the data on the Covid-19 national portal, 5,075 of every 10 lakh people in Punjab tested positive for the virus by November 29.

High CFR continues to be a big concern

Despite decrease in cases, the state continues to top the chart in the case fatality ratio (CFR).

The state had CFR of 3.2% in November.

Health department experts there were low chances of second pandemic wave ion the state till December 22.

“Not only our cases have come down but t here is decrease of deaths by 200 this month. The number of total tests done in November decreased because of less positive cases. If cases are low, contact tracing is also bound to decrease,” said state Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar.