Sanjay Bumbroo Tribune News Service Mohali April 10 With 630 fresh cases in the past five days the Dhakoli area of Zirakpur in Mohali district has become a Covid-19 hotspot. As many as 880 cases have surfaced from the Dhakoli area since April 1. Similarly the Kharar sub-division of the district has also become another Covid hotspot as 396 cases surfaced here in the past five days. Mohali district witnessed 81 per cent increase in Covid-19 cases during the same period. The number of active cases in the district has gone up from 3184 to 5009. On March 31 the number of positive cases in the district was 26693 which has now gone up to 31140. Similarly the number of persons recovered from the virus has increased from 23076 to 25658 till April 10. However the recovery rate in the district has declined from 86.44 per cent to 82.39 per cent in the same period. The toll has increased from 433 to 473 during the same period. A total of 48 fatalities were reported in March while 40 deaths have already been reported from the district in the past 10 days. During a random survey of the markets in the city and other places in the district more than 40 per cent people were seen moving without a mask thus exposing themselves to the deadly virus. Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases was due to increased testing. Scattered containment zones were being created in Dhakoli and Kharar to check the spread of the virus. On an average 1500 to 1700 tests were being conducted daily. He said directions had been issued to the Health Department to collect samples of 19 contacts of every infected person in the district. It is pertinent to mention here that the district administration had already increased the penalty from Rs500 to Rs1000 for not wearing a face mask and spitting in public places for each violation. Any violation will invite criminal proceedings under relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005 and the Indian Penal Code 1860.

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