Ludhiana maintained lead in fatalities, cases in week that was

Ludhiana: With 65 more succumbing to Covid-19 over the last seven days alone, the pandemic situation continues to be alarming in Ludhiana district. The number is the highest for a week in the district since the outbreak of disease.
As per the government’s health bulletin on Saturday, the 65 casualties in Ludhiana district in the last seven days account for 41.1% of the total deaths in the state during the period.Last Saturday, the number of the deaths in the district in the preceding seven days was recorded at 45 — 39.47% of the total fatalities in the state in that period.
The state bulletins also suggest that Ludhiana district had a case fatality rate (CFR) of 3% in the last seven days, which is higher than the CFR for the state at 2% in the same period. The CFR for India stands at 2.03%.
According to the latest government data, the number of new cases in the last seven days has been highest in Ludhiana district compared to any other district in the state. In all, 5,867 new cases were reported in the state in the last seven days, to which Ludhiana alone contributed 1,511. Patiala with 734 new cases and Jalandhar with 620 stand at number two and three among the districts.
The media bulletins also suggest that the Ludhiana district leads other districts in terms of active cases as well with 1,649 cases. Jalandhar and Patiala districts are at number two and three spots with 920 and 879 such cases, respectively.
The district has a cured percentage of 63%, which is 2% lower than the state’s percentage. Jalandhar and Amritsar districts have much better cured percentages than Ludhiana at 67% and 75%, respectively. Hoshiarpur district tops the list with 89%, highest for any district of the state.
The doubling rate, or the number of days it would take for the cases to double based on the last seven days’ growth rate, dropped to 13 days on August 8 from 18 on July 25.
Given the grim situation, many residents here say the government needs to take pro-active steps to check the number of fatalities as well as cases.
“Many people have died due to lack of proper treatment and the cases are rising in Ludhiana district. This suggests that the government’s strategy to check the fatalities and cases has not yielded much. On the ground, we don’t see that much strictness in enforcing the safety norms like wearing masks and social distancing. Things are pretty bad in posh areas and markets as police violations keep taking place in the presence of cops,” said Keemti Rawal, a social activist, who lost his brother-in-law to Covid-19 allegedly due to improper treatment.
‘Covid peak nearing in dist’
Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga could not be contacted for his comments, but another health department officer said the main reason for high fatality rate in Ludhiana is the nearing of Covid-19 peak in the district. He said they have increased the number of beds for Level 3 patients (critical patients). The officer requested people to follow preventive measures so that cases and fatalities can be reined in. There is still a sizeable number of people, who do not wear masks and do not following social distancing norms, including the educated ones, he said