Daily positivity rate plummets to record low of 0.39% in Ludhiana district

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 17

Having made a remarkable turnaround from worst-hit to the safest district in Punjab, Ludhiana has recorded its lowest-ever daily Covid positivity rate, a key indicator of virus surge.

At the record low of 0.39 per cent on Wednesday when only 43 of the total 10,898 samples taken during the past 24 hours tested positive, Ludhiana’s hit rate continues to be the lowest in the state.

However, the district’s 24-hour positivity rate rose to 0.6 per cent on Thursday when 64 of the total 10,645 samples tested positive here.

The data compiled by the Health and Family Welfare Department, which is available with The Tribune, revealed that Ludhiana’s daily positivity rate was almost 1 per cent less than the state’s average of 1.33 per cent on Wednesday.

On Thursday also, Ludhiana’s hit rate remained lowest in the state and was half than the state’s average positivity rate of 1.28 per cent.

Retaining the tag of safest district and constantly recording the lowest hit rate in the state for the past one week, Ludhiana’s positivity rate continuously remained below 1 per cent since June 12.

From 0.83 per cent on June 12, the 24-hour hit rate went slightly up to 0.97 per cent on June 13, and fell to 0.53 per cent on June 14, bit increased to 0.62 per cent on June 15, dropping to a record low of 0.39 per cent on June 16, and once again going up a bit to 0.6 per cent on June 17.

The data compiled by the district Health Department since August last showed that the daily positivity rate had never plummeted below 0.73 per cent, which was the previous lowest recorded in the district on October 19, 2020.

And now for the past four days continuously, Ludhiana’s daily hit rate continues to be the lowest-ever with 0.53 per cent on June 14, 0.62 per cent on June 15, 0.39 per cent on June 16, and 0.6 per cent on June 17.

This U-turn assumed much significance as the daily positivity rate has dropped by a whopping 19.18 per cent from the highest-ever ratio of 19.57 per cent in 45 days. The district had touched its peak of virus surge on May 2.

The official data suggested that the daily hit rate has been plummeting constantly since the last week of May.

Ludhiana’s positivity rate had started at a high of 18.92 per cent on the first day of May, further rising and touching its peak of 19.57 per cent on May 2.

The analysis of weekly average positivity rate showed that Ludhiana reported 4.3 per cent positivity rate between May 20 and 26, which was almost half than 7.3 per cent positivity rate recorded in the district between May 13 and 19.

From the sixth lowest positivity rate in the state and almost one-third less than the state’s average of 10.7 per cent between May 13 and 19, and the fifth lowest with 2.3 per cent less than the state average of 6.6 per cent between May 20 and 26, Ludhiana’s hit rate not only turned out to be the lowest at 1.6 per cent in the state but also half than Punjab’s average of 3.2 per cent between May 31 and June 6.

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