Fatality rate halves in 2nd Covid wave, drops to 1.75% in Punjab

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 22

With a rise in cases during the second wave of Covid, Punjab’s fatality rate has come down to 1.75 per cent, which is almost half of the first spike when it remained around 3.5 per cent.

Follow MHA norms on capping visitors at malls, Punjab CM urged

The first spike of Covid came in September last year, when around 60,000 cases were reported. However, after that, the cases witnessed a continuous decline and the number came down to just 200. The second spike of Covid started in the first week of February. Since February 1, the state has reported 40,240 cases and 708 deaths. Thus, the state’s case fatality rate (CFR) remained at 1.75 per cent in this period. Till January-end, the case fatality rate in Punjab was 3.23, which was the highest in the country.

With a recent decline in the case fatality rate, Punjab’s overall rate has come down to three per cent. It is still above than the national average of 1.4 per cent.

58 more die in Punjab as nation sees more than 40,000 Covid cases in a day

Nationally, after Punjab, the distant second is Sikkim, where CFR is 2.2, which is followed by Maharashtra with 2. Himachal Pradesh has 1.7, Chandigarh has 1.5, Jammu and Kashmir has 1.5 and Haryana has 1.1 CFR. The reason behind the high fatality rate in Punjab, experts say, is the heavy load of population suffering from comorbidities. Apart from that, the bigger worry for Punjab is the sudden increase in active Covid cases, which at present stand at 18,257.

Meanwhile, eight students of a private Ayurvedic medical college at Badal village in Muktsar were found positive for Covid. Dr Manju Bansal, SMO, Civil Hospital, Badal, said, “A large number of students were tested and eight of them found positive. They have been isolated.”

58 deaths in past 24 hours

The state reported 2,319 cases and 58 deaths in the past 24 hours. This is the highest number of casualties in a single day during the second spike. Doaba continues to be the worst affected. The three districts reported 28 deaths in the past 24 hours. Hoshiarpur figured on top with 10 deaths followed by Jalandhar and SBS Nagar with nine deaths each.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.