On Friday, Gurgaon saw a surge of 71 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 299, of which seven patients are being treated in hospitals. Officials from the health department have reported that the positivity rate is now at 4.36%.
This marks the third consecutive day that the city has reported over 70 new cases. In the past three months, Gurgaon reported 584 cases in March, 54 cases in February and 40 cases in January. To detect Covid cases early, the health department is screening people for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). According to Dr. Virender Yadav, the Chief Medical Officer in Gurgaon, most of the patients have shown symptoms of influenza, such as fever, cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose, and shortness of breath.
Medical experts are urging people to strictly follow the Covid protocol to prevent the spread of the virus. The HOD of Pulmonary at Primus Super Speciality Hospital, Dr. SK Chhabra, emphasized that the rising number of Covid-19 cases is a reminder for people to remain vigilant in combating the pandemic. While there are 2-3 suspected cases that have been sent for further investigation, the positivity rate is still very high in the NCR. The surge in cases can be attributed to the XBB.1.16 sub-lineage of Omicron, which is capable of evading previous immunity.
Meanwhile, Haryana reported 128 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of active cases to 499. The positivity rate is at 3.6%, and the health authorities collected 3,081 samples for antigen and RT-PCR tests.
Over 10.5 lakh people have tested positive in the state since the pandemic began, and Haryana has witnessed a total of 10,714 Covid deaths till now. On Friday, a total of 3,178 people got vaccinated in Haryana, including 369 who received their first doses, 603 who received their second doses, and 2,206 who received precautionary doses.