Having the dubious distinction of having the highest case fatality rate (CFR) in India since past three months, Punjab’s death toll on Thursday crossed 5000-mark with 28 more succumbing to the deadly contagion. The total number of deaths has now reached 5,007 at the rate of 3.16 percent, against the national CFR of 1.4 percent.
With 635 fresh cases reported in the past 24 hours, the state’s infection tally stood at 1,58,556. Highest 134 fresh cases were recorded in Jalandhar, followed by 69 each in Amritsar and Mohali, 63 in Patiala, 62 in Ludhiana, among others.
Punjab has the highest mortality rate of 3.16 percent in the country, followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat, where 2.6 percent and 1.9 percent of the total infected people have succumbed to the virus.
Of the total, maximum six deaths were reported from SAS Nagar (Mohali); followed by four each in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur; three each in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Patiala; two in Sangrur; and one each in Barnala, Mansa, and Moga, stated the state’s health bulletin.
As many as 503 patients were discharged on Thursday after recovering from the deadly virus, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,46,126, at the rate of 92.16 percent.
The state has 7,423 active cases — accounting for 4.68 percent of the state’s total confirmed positive cases. Of these, 136 patients are on oxygen support, while 20 patients are critical and on ventilator support.
Notably, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had also expressed its concern over the high CFR rate, and had sent a central team to assist the state health authorities.
Alarmed, the State Government has now decided to conduct a gap analysis to initiate remedial steps to bring down the fatality rate. A team of experts, led by Punjab Government’s Health Adviser Dr KK Talwar, the PGIMER-Chandigarh’s former director, is conducting the study, under which all the hospitals, including both the government and private, have been asked to provide real time details of all patients, including co-morbidities, of those put on ventilators.
The hospitals have also been asked to submit details of reason for considering invasive ventilation, date of starting invasive mechanical ventilation, mode of oxygen therapy before invasive ventilation, oxygen saturation, fraction of inspired oxygen, respiratory rate, blood pressure, urine output in last 24 hours, trial of supportive therapies and COVID-specific drugs, among other things.
