Spurt in cases, deaths seen in November’s second fortnight in Amritsar

Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, November 30

With the Covid-19 infection count reaching the 13,117 mark, the district reported 1,223 new infections and 45 deaths during the month of November. The count of infections is 34 per cent less than the cases (1,831) reported in the month of October.

Even the number of casualties has gone down by nearly 48 per cent with the district reporting 45 deaths in November in comparison to 86 during the previous month. Though the overall figures are relieving, the district has witnessed an increase in the number of cases and casualties during the second fortnight of the month of November.

51 test +ve for covid-19 in district

The district health authorities reported 51 new infections on Monday. The new cases include 33 influenza-like cases and 18 contacts of positive patients. The district did not report any death on Monday.

With a total count of 13,117 cases, the district has also reported 501 deaths due to the disease so far. Meanwhile, with the recovery of 15 patients, the recovery count has also increased to 11,993. At present, the district has a total of 683 active cases.

The increase in the number of casualties is even worrisome. Of the total 45 deaths reported in November, a total of 23 were reported in the last week of November. While the health authorities and district administration had predicted a second wave of infections during the winter months, the increase in cases during the latter part of November indicates that the situation has already started turning bad.

With educational institutions, businesses and market places already opening up and people lowering their guard after months of exhaustive precautions, the chances of further increase cannot be ruled out, said a health official. He said as marriage season in Punjab falls in the winter months, mass gatherings would be a routine.

Though the government has already announced night curfew in the state from December 1, this cannot be relied upon as an effective tool to check infections, as businesses except for hospitality industry close down early in winter months.

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