Amit Bathla Tribune News Service Panchkula April 8 Sharing its boundary with the badly affected Chandigarh and Punjab Panchkula district reported its highest single-day surge of 239 cases today since the inception of the pandemic in March last year a clear indication that the virus is spreading faster in the current wave than the first one in September last year. The active caseload currently stands at 1167. The spiral in the coronavirus cases has resulted in 100 per cent ICU bed occupancy in private hospitals and only two are available at the Civil Hospital Sector 6. Of the 219 critical patients in all of Haryana (as of April 7) 85 are in Panchkula alone which is about 39 per cent. At least six are on ventilator support in two private hospitals – Alchemist Hospital Sector 26 and Paras Hospital. The local Health Department has decided to add 35 oxygen beds to the Civil Hospital 6 by tomorrow to deal with the prevailing situation. More Covid care centers are being made operational to admit patients with mild infection. After the dental college in Barwala Gurjar Bhawan has also been added to the list. Cases: In Sept and now As many as 3762 cases were reported in September last year during the peak of the first wave. The month of March this year witnessed around 2200 cases. However the cases are yet to hit the peak or plateau in the current wave. Testing up Around 20000 Covid tests were conducted in September last year and to tackle the current wave over 35000 tests were conducted in March this year. The testing has further gone up in the first week of April after instructions from the district administration to conduct 2500-3000 tests each day. Lower fatality rate As many as 66 people had lost their lives due to Covid in September last year. Only 17 fatalities were witnessed in the month of March suggesting a significantly lower fatality rate in the current wave. Long-lasting symptoms Health officials say patients in the current wave are developing severe and long-lasting symptoms even though the fatality rate is low. 39% of Hry critical cases in Panchkula Of the 219 critical patients in all of Haryana (as of April 7) 85 are in Panchkula alone which is about 39 per cent. At least six are on ventilator support in two private hospitals. With 239 cases Pkula clocks new high Panchkula: The district on Thursday saw its highest single-day surge of 239 cases since the inception of the pandemic taking the overall tally to 14292. The Covid toll remained at 156 with no new death. While 12969 patients have recovered from the disease so far 1167 cases are active. The recovery rate stands at 90.74 per cent. 2706 vaccinated As many as 2706 people were jabbed in Panchkula on Thursday. Over 84K doses of the vaccine have been given in the district so far.

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