Max surge in cases in fourth lockdown

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 1

As the city is all set to enter the fifth phase of the lockdown with more relaxations, the trend has shown that the fourth phase witnessed the highest number of cases — 103.

The first lockdown of 21 days had witnessed only 21 cases in the city as the initial outbreak was only restricted to foreign travellers and their contacts. Subsequent surge during the second and the third lockdown phase was witnessed due to Bapu Dham Colony, which has now become a Covid epicentre in Chandigarh. The cases in the colony alone account for 74 per cent of the total cases.

A senior epidemiologist from the PGIMER said: “The surge in cases is because of Bapu Dham Colony. We couldn’t restrict mingling of people there. Neither we were able to test and isolate effectively in the early phase of outbreak. It has no relationship with the lockdown. Bapu Dham was the same in all phases rendering lockdown and containment ineffective.”

Unlocking vital for economy: Adviser

Manoj Parida, UT Adviser, said: “Even after 60 days, only three deaths were reported and mostly due to co-morbidities. So, the decision of coming out of the lockdown to revive the economy is timely and appropriate. Centre’s best doctors and public health experts have advised the policy for the entire country. The infection cannot be prevented, it can only be contained. No one knows for sure how it transmits.”

Cases will spike sans lockdown, says expert

Dr Sonu Goel, School of Public Health, said: “The impact of one lockdown is visible on the next lockdown. If we contain the number of cases in one lockdown due to social distancing, then the spread will be limited in the next.”

Dr Goel added: “We need to imagine what would have happened in absence of the lockdown. The rate at which the disease spreads or the number of persons an infected person is likely to infect would have risen exponentially if there was no lockdown. Brazil has not resorted to a lockdown and has witnessed upward movement in the number of cases, whereas there has been a dip in the number of cases in Italy and France after the imposition of the lockdown.”