Covid cases dip in Punjab, but fatality rate highest in country

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 18

While Covid cases have started to decline in Punjab, the high rate of deaths remains a concern for the authorities.

Record 231 daily deaths in Punjab

The state reported 231 deaths on Tuesday, which is the highest-ever single day toll. The previous single-day highest toll was 217, reported last week. Besides, 7,143 fresh cases were reported in the past 24 hours. With this, the total number of cases has gone up to 5.11 lakh with 12,317 deaths. Bathinda topped among districts with 34 deaths, followed by Ludhiana (21), Muktsar and Patiala (19 each), Amritsar (16) and Fazilka (15).

The state reported 1,382 deaths and 53,812 cases over the past seven days (May 11-17). However, last week’s case fatality rate (CFR) remained 2.56, which is higher than the state’s overall rate. It had fallen to 2.4 per cent in the second wave.

The fatality rate of the state still remains highest in the country, which has the average rate of 1.1 per cent. Punjab is the only state with over 2 per cent rate. It is followed by Sikkim (1.8), Uttarakhand (1.7), Delhi and Goa (1.6 each); and Maharashtra and Manipur 1.5 (each).

According to experts, the high rate can either be due to underreporting of cases or handling of critical patients. Among the neighbouring states, Himachal has the CFR of 1.4 per cent, followed by Jammu & Kashmir (1.3), UT Chandigarh (1.1) and Haryana (1 per cent).

Still, the situation remains better as compared to the first wave peak. In September last year, the state’s CFR stood at 3.3 per cent. Till March, it remained above 3 per cent. The state reported 231 deaths on Tuesday, which is the highest-ever single-day toll. The previous single-day highest toll was 217,

reported last week.