Just 10 days into May, 93 deaths, 7K cases in Jalandhar district

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 10

The rising death tally due to Covid this month in Jalandhar is certainly bothering everyone. While there were 166 fatalities in April this year, the death toll in the first 10 days of May has already touched 93.

This means that an average 9 to 10 persons are losing their lives daily in the district due to coronavirus. Even the spurt in the number of positive cases has gone up significantly this month. While there were 13,361 cases in enitre April, the number of Covid cases has already reached close to 7,000 in just 10 days of this month. The month saw the highest spike in Covid cases so far with the single-day positive cases touching a figure of 950.

But despite Covid clearly assuming an alarming situation, people are not ready to stay indoors. After non-essential item shops remained shut for a week, all markets were allowed to remain open today with restricted timing. Most readymade garment shops remained open from 9 am to 1.30 pm and people were seen out to grab the fashion stuff. Popular markets of Rainak Bazaar and Model Town seemed happening like any normal day, even during these otherwise odd hours. People did not mind trying a couple of dresses in the try room before taking the final pick.

The main sabzi mandi at Maqsudan, which was to close at 11 am, saw more than the routine rush of visitors. People did not mind even undergoing the random Covid testing by the health team to be allowed in. Not just the hawkers, even residents were seen bargaining with the wholesalers and buying their week’s green grocery. Even the rainfall around 8 am did not disrupt the working at mandi as the wholesalers quickly shifted their stuff inside the shops or in the sheds of the mandi.

Sadly, despite being aware of the state of affairs, shortage of medicines, oxygen cylinders and beds in the hospitals, the residents are not ready to settle. A priest in the Model Town cremation ground said: “It was for the first time in my life that I had to get a cremation done outside the designated sites last Thursday. We have 12 platforms but all got full that day. We usually carry out cremation for non-Covid deaths before 5 pm. After this time, the government officials and NGO take over the cremation work. That day, we had six non-Covid cremations and seven for Covid. There also have been days, when we have had to tell the families to take the bodies to other cremation grounds including those in Kishanpura, Harnamdaspura or Mithapur.”