48 deaths in 17 days in Mohali

Gaurav Kanthwal
Tribune News Service
Mohali, August 26

As many as 48 of the 67 Covid deaths in the district so far, which comes to more than 70 per cent, have been reported in the last 17 days.

On August 11, the Covid toll in Mohali and Chandigarh was 23 and 26, respectively, but in just 15 days the death count in Mohali rose to 67, while it is 41 in Chandigarh. Notably, the total number of cases in Mohali (3,037) is considerably less than the UT (3,376).

Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said there were multiple reasons for the recent spate in deaths in the district. He said most victims had co-morbidities with the age not on their side. Most deaths took place in tertiary care hospitals.

According to the Civil Surgeon, it showed that patients were hospitalised in reputed, big institutions, thereby negating any apprehension of lack of treatment. “The death rate in the district is still close to 2 per cent,” he added. Notably, most tertiary care hospitals in Mohali are private facilities. Dr Manjit Singh categorically denied that the sudden spurt in Covid deaths could be due to late hospitalisation of the victims.

Punjab Principal Secretary (Health) Hussan Lal said, “Most deaths in Mohali district have been in the tertiary or critical care.

The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is not taking patients from Punjab so we have to depend on Rajindra Hospital in Patiala or the Banur facility.”

Tally rises from 2K to 3K in 7 days

The first Covid case was reported from the district on March 20. It took 138 days to reach the 1,000 mark. The district hit the 2,000 mark in the next 13 days. Seven days later, the 3,000 mark has been breached. Dera Bassi, one of the worst-hit blocks, registered 196 new cases in the month of August.

Zirakpur has reported 10 deaths this month. A total of 421 cases have been reported from the place with 149 patients having been discharged. As many as 228 patients are in home isolation.

Tally track

March 20:  First case

• July 19:   500 plus
• Aug 5:    1,000 plus
• Aug 12:  1,500 plus
• Aug 18:  2,000 plus
• Aug 22:  2,500 plus
• Aug 26:  3,000 plus

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