Warning signs in festive season: Covid cases see a marginal rise in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: There’s still a week to go in October, but at 158, Covid cases reported this month so far are already marginally higher than September’s 150. There has also been a rise in positivity rate from 0.1% in September to 0.2% this month.
Doctors in the city pointed out a general laxity in Covid-appropriate behaviour, such as wearing masks in public places, could have contributed to this rise in cases. They expressed concern at the trend, saying the festive season was far from over and shoppers were thronging markets ahead of Diwali, and urged people to wear their masks properly and follow Covid protocols to prevent another surge.
After the deadly second wave, when Gurugram had added 1 lakh cases to its tally through April and May, the Covid numbers had started to go down from June onwards. The monthly case count fell to 150 in September from 654 in June.
Chief medical officer Virender Yadav warned people against letting their guard down. “There is a minimal rise in the positivity rate this month. If people continue to be so casual in their behaviour, we might see a rise in cases in November too. We have always been urging people to wear masks in public and maintain social distance,” he added.
For comparison, Gurugram had reported 19,665 cases in November last year. “People hadn’t followed safety protocols during the festivals last year. Vaccines may have provided a shield against the virus, but it is always better to take precautions,” Yadav added. The city’s vaccination coverage is now fairly robust, with more than 70% of the population having taken both shots.
Gurugram, as of now, does not have any containment zone because the places from where the cases have been reported are quite far from each other. On Monday, Gurugram had 40 active cases. It added eight new cases on Monday while 12 patients recovered. However, there has been no death from the infection in the past two months.
Doctors said though cases were more than last month, there wasn’t any “significant” spike yet. “We have not seen a significant surge so far. The new patients haven’t shown any severe symptoms,” said Dr Sushila Kataria, an intensive care expert at Medanta-The Medicity.
Of the 40 active cases, only one patient has had to be admitted to hospital while the others are recovering at home. Doctors have attributed this trend to a wide vaccination coverage and development of antibodies in people. “Delhi-NCR has not really witnessed a sharp spike after the second wave. But due to the festive season, there has been a significant rise in social gatherings and shoppers are thronging the markets, throwing caution to the wind. With reports of surge coming in from China, Singapore and London, we need to be extra careful. Everyone should follow safety norms and should not shy away from getting themselves jabbed,” said Dr Shivanshu Raj Goyal, consultant (respiratory, pulmonology and sleep medicine) at Artemis Hospital.
Maintaining social distance and wearing masks are key to preventing a possible surge, the doctors said. “New variants are being reported in many countries. Although there is no alarming spike here as yet, hospitals have to be prepared for any untoward situation. People must be careful and get themselves vaccinated,” said Dr Manoj Goel, director of pulmonology at Fortis Hospital.
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