Chandigarh witnesses single-day infection positivity rate of 38%

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 8

The city today reported its highest single-day spike of 377 Covid-19 cases out of the 991 samples taken in the past 24 hours. Experts have warned that the cases will continue to spiral the entire month of September and that the situation is just the “tip of the iceberg”.

The single-day positivity rate of the UT stood at 38 per cent.

In just eight days of this month, a total of 2,026 cases have been recorded as against 375 cases recorded in the first eight days of August.

UT Health Secretary Arun Gupta said, “The testing has increased to 1,000 samples a day. However, 377 cases in a single day are startling. This shows how much the virus is prevalent in the community. Earlier, distant contacts of positive cases did not come positive. But now almost all contacts of a positive case are found infected.” UT Adviser Manoj Parida said, “We were expecting such a spike in September. Isolation at home and hygiene need to be strictly observed. We will intensify testing and enhance micro-containment zones. As such, 24 more micro-containment zones have already been made in the UT.”

With an incessant surge in cases, the UT may witness a shortage of Covid beds needed for moderate and severe cases in the hospitals.

Gupta said, “We have around 300 beds in the PGI and 200 beds in the GMCH for sick Covid-19 patients. Around 125 beds are occupied at the GMCH and 200 beds at the PGI. The problem is that the PGI Covid block has patients from other states as well. The occupancy of beds by patients from the city is only 70. If the trend continues, there may be a problem of Covid beds in hospitals.” Rajesh Kumar, former head of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGI, said, “Today’s positivity rate is alarming and depicts that the infection is quite prevalent in the community. This is a clear indication that testing should be increased to bring down the positivity rate below 5 per cent as advised by the World Health Organization. If 100 persons test positive, 1,500 of their contacts need to be identified and tested.”

Kumar added, “What’s more worrying is the rising number of deaths. When cases increase, deaths will automatically increase in the next four to five days. Increased testing will also help identify the cases early and decrease mortality.”

He said, “People are getting more complacent about coronavirus. They should take extra precautions against the disease this month. People should stop inviting friends and relatives home. The surge is just the tip of the iceberg as there may be many undiagnosed cases.”