Covid daily cases touch 4-month high in Ludhiana district

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 30

The dreaded Covid has again risen exponentially in Ludhiana district with the count of daily and active virus cases touching a four-month high while the hit rate, a key indicator of the virus surge, breaching the six-month record here on Thursday, the administration has confirmed.

Four-Month High & Low

• Active cases: Highest 106 on Aug 13 and 14; lowest 10 on October 2
• Daily cases: Highest 34 on Aug 11; lowest 0 on Dec 14, 1, Nov 29, 25, 24, 14, 6, Oct 31, 24, 16, Sept 30, 24, 23, 15, Aug 29, 28 and 24
• Hit rate: Highest 0.58% on Dec 30; lowest nil on Dec 14, 1, Nov 29, 25, 24, 14, 6, Oct 31, 24, 16, Sept 30, 24, 23, 15, Aug 29, 28 and 24
• Deaths: Highest 7 in Dec so far with one each on December 4, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16 and 27; lowest four each in Nov, Oct and Aug

DCSPEAK

The sudden surge in Covid cases is a matter of concern. Though we are still safe from the Omicron variant, the rise in daily and active cases, besides increase in the hit rate calls for immediate steps to curb the upward trend. We are monitoring the situation and necessary steps are being taken. — Varinder Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner

With four international travellers, including three from the United Kingdom and another from Romania, 21 persons, which comprised 17 from the district and four outsiders, tested positive for Covid while the tally of active cases reached 65 during the past 24 hours, the official figures have revealed.

It was despite the fact that the testing rate has fallen down drastically from 14,411 on August 14 to 2,907 on Thursday. However, the only sigh of relief was that no case of the new highly contagious Omicron variant of Covid has been reported in the district so far.

On Thursday, the positivity rate climbed up to 0.58 per cent, which was a record high since June 18 when Ludhiana had reported a hit rate of 0.63 per cent. Since then, the positivity rate in the district ranged between 0 to 0.43 per cent from June 19 and December 29. Thursday’s hit rate was more than double than Wednesday’s positivity rate of 0.24 per cent.

Also, the count of Covid deaths has also broken the five-month record with seven persons falling prey to the virus in the district in December so far while November, October and August had reported four casualties each whereas five each had died due to Covid here in September and July.

The development holds significance as Ludhiana had earlier assumed the dubious distinction of being the worst-hit district with the maximum number of daily Covid cases and deaths till May. In June also, Ludhiana had reported 89 Covid deaths.

Ludhiana, with a maximum population of 4-million, had remained the worst-hit during the deadly second Covid wave, but had later made a remarkable turnaround from being the worst-hit to the safest district in the state.

The safe trend persisted since July when the district had made a remarkable turnaround by recording the daily positivity rate even below 1 per cent.

If it was mayhem in May when the second Covid wave had rapidly slid into a devastating crisis with the health facilities unbearably falling short, oxygen supplies running low and many dying even without seeing a doctor, June had started giving a sigh of relief with signs of gradual retreat and impact of deadly virus plateauing and the safe trend began in July and continued till recently when the hit rate remained nil on December 14.

This U-turn was all the more significant as the daily positivity rate has dropped from the highest-ever ratio of 19.57 per cent recorded on May 2, when the district had touched its peak of virus surge.

The daily hit rate had been plummeting constantly since the last week of May.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.