Meerut: A report prepared by the Meerut health department has said more youngsters are getting infected with Covid-19 in the district this time round as compared to the previous spike in cases in August and September, 2020. According to the statistics, as many as 214 patients in the age group of 21-40 years have tested positive for Covid-19 over the past one week. The number accounts for 36% of the total 589 patients who tested positive in the duration. In the same period, a 65-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman succumbed to the infection.

On Thursday, 165 Covid-19 positive cases were detected in Meerut, taking the tally to 22,573 since the outbreak of the pandemic. In view of the spurt in cases, Meerut district magistrate K Balaji has imposed a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am in the district till April 18. He has ordered that all schools and colleges to remain closed till then. Meanwhile, Covid-19 vaccination is on in full swing in the district

“As many as 214 people in the age group of 21-40 years have tested positive for Covid-19 in Meerut in the last one week. This accounts for 36% of the total 589 cases which were reported in the said period,” said the report of the health department. When the cases had peaked in August and September, 2020, as many as 4,158 patients had tested positive for Covid-19. Out of these, 1,911 patients had tested positive in August and 2,247 had tested positive in September. While in August, as many as 910 patients were less than 40 years old, in September, 1,000 were below the age of 40.

Dr Akhilesh Mohan, chief medical officer, Meerut, said, “While the effect of Covid-19 virus is on the people of all age groups, youngsters are the most exposed because they tend to skip wearing masks. The only way to remain safe is to follow the norms of wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing.”

In an earlier report, TOI had quoted Dr Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS, New Delhi, as saying, “Younger people are going out a lot. They feel even if they are infected, it will only cause mild symptoms.” He had added that it was important to realize that the youngsters could become super-spreaders if they do not follow Covid-appropriate behavior while going out and this would eventually lead to more cases among high-risk groups.

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