Third Covid wave: Rapid spread, hospitalisation low

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 3

The Covid-19 cases in Chandigarh now are increasing more rapidly than during the second wave, which pushed the city’s health infrastructure to the brink in April-May last year. Despite more infections being reported, the hospitalisation rate is low this time.

The daily cases in the city have nearly touched the 100-mark while only 26 hospital beds are occupied in Chandigarh by the patients who require oxygen and ventilators. The number of active cases is 320.

On March 6 last year, when Chandigarh for the first time reported a new high of 122 single-day cases after a gap three months, as many as 77 seriously ill patients were admitted to the PGIMER’s Covid block. In the entire city, over 100 patients were admitted in hospitals and there were 675 active cases.

The city had exhausted its 30-40 per cent bed capacity in March, which marked the beginning of the second surge, whereas only 6 per cent of the beds are occupied now.

Yashpal Garg, UT Health Secretary, said: “Most of the patients in Chandigarh are asymptomatic and undergoing home isolation. There is no panic situation, as we witnessed in the last surge.”

The Chandigarh Health Bulletin for Covid shows that between December 29 and January 2 this year, the daily cases shot up from 33 to 96. This period is taken for comparison vis-à-vis the previous wave beginning since February 25. It then took at least 10 days for the city to touch the 100-mark. The number of infections rose steadily in the last wave and persisted for a longer period.

In the last surge, the health care system in Chandigarh was on the edge with hospitals unable to handle the relentless inflow of patients and ran out of intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

The current rise in cases comes with the spread of the new Omicron variant, with Chandigarh reporting three Omicron cases till now. Health experts say that this variant is more transmissible than the Delta variant, which had triggered the second wave. Even as the cases are rising, the Chandigarh health authorities have not been able to send enough samples for genome sequencing to keep a check on the Omicron variant.

With the genome sequencing laboratory at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) unable to take samples due to logistical problems, Chandigarh will send its samples to IMTECH, Mohali.

So far, Chandigarh has sent only samples of those patients who have returned from high-risk countries. Now, random samples will be sent to IMTECH to know the variant behind the spread.

Tests in Mohali lab

With the genome sequencing laboratory at PGIMER unable to take samples due to logistical problems, Chandigarh will send its samples to IMTECH, Mohali.

Cases in Chandigarh over 10 days

Second surge: 197%
Feb 25,2021: 41 daily cases
Mar 6: 122 daily cases (675 active)

Third surge: 708%
Dec 24, 2021: 12 daily cases
Jan 2: 96 daily cases (320 active)

Hospital admission 85% less this time

Patients admitted 174
20 on ventilator (between Feb 25 -Mar 6, 2021

Patients admitted 26
4 on ventilator (between Dec 24 -jan 2, 2022)

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