There is no cause for worry due to number of Covid-19 positive cases having increased in recent days in Uttarakhand. Community spread has not occurred in the State yet. Stating this, the chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said that all the cases are either due to travel history or contact and all of these have already been under monitoring. A rise in the total cases is possible in the coming days but in about a fortnight there will be a drop in the number of active cases.
Addressing the media, Singh said that the State’s doubling rate has shown some improvement in the past three days while the positivity rate is less than the national average. The Covid-19 mortality rate in Uttarakhand is less than one per cent compared to the national average of about 2.8 per cent. The State is laying special focus on patient care management and contact tracing. A strict system is being followed in the 31 containment zones in the state.
Singh further said that attempts are being made to increase the number of Covid tests. In the first week, the average sample per day was one which increased to 834 in the 16th week and will soon rise to 1,000 per day.
About 5,500 people per million in Dehradun and about 3,185 per million in Nainital are being tested, which is higher than the national average. Efforts are also being made to increase the number of testing labs and the number of tests in other districts. Analysis of the contagion in Uttarakhand reveals that 41 per cent cases are asymptomatic, 53 per cent have very mild symptoms, 4.5 per cent have medium while 1.74 per cent have more symptoms.
The state doesn’t have serious cases, he added.
Singh further informed that most of the migrants wanting to return to Uttarakhand had come back. Out of the 2.62 lakh who had registered online, 1.81 lakh have returned while the remaining and now less willing to return. Stating that the pandemic has created a challenging situation, he stressed that there was no need to panic as the government is fully prepared. With discipline, patience and courage, the state will soon bring Covid-19 under control in Uttarakhand, he added.
