At 4.74%, Tarn Taran sees highest fatality rate among border districts

Gurbaxpuri

Tarn Taran, June 6

Though the districts on the international border have reported far less number of Covid cases in Punjab, Tarn Taran district has recorded one of the highest fatality rates. In the last two months, the rate had touched 4.74 per cent.

The district had reported 3,474 positive cases in two months — 1,845 in April and 1,629 in May — and 165 deaths. The district has reported 7,622 positive cases since the pandemic started. The number of positive cases in the district is nearly six times less than the neighbouring Amritsar district. With 321 deaths, the district has a fatality rate of 4.21 per cent, which is far higher than the national average of 1.2 per cent.

Health officials blamed lack of awareness among the public and over-reliance on quacks and semi-qualified medical practitioners for the high fatality rate. However, these are not the only factors for the high death rate. The district has insufficient infrastructure and absence of qualified medical practitioners.

Harbhajan Kaur (65) of Pakhoke village fell sick in April. She continued to take medicine from a quack for 10 days. Finally, she was shifted to the Civil Hospital on May 3 where she died same day.

The district does not have a single ventilator. It has to refer its patients to Amritsar. It has only two anaesthetists while it needs six. The district does not have any Intensive Care Unit. Besides, 100 posts of medical officer have been lying vacant for long.

Deputy Commissioner Kulwant Singh said the district administration was making every effort to contain the spread of the disease and check the fatality rate. Medical practitioners in rural areas had been instructed to refer the seriously ill patients to health centres in time.

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