SOPs violations amid relaxations may lead to increase in positive cases

Shyam Sood
Rajouri June 15 :--With three more deaths today (2 in GMC Rajouri and one in home isolation) Covid-19 death tally reached 207 including 155 deaths during 2nd wave.
50 years old man from Kewal in Kotranka sub-district was tested positive first at his working place at Shahadra on Monday. He was brought to GMC Rajouri and again tested positive (RAT) and the doctor referred him to isolation ward.
“But instead of taking him to the isolation ward reportedly the patient with the help of family members skipped from the GMC and reached home on Monday. He died on Tuesday at home,” said sources.
Drastic decrease in positive cases after the Covid Curfew restrictions was a welcome step. For the last few days, the overall positivity rate is 2.79% in the district, while the recovery rate reached 93.1% and the death rate is 1.98%.
Out of 2314 tests conducted today 49 were tested positive. The number of active cases has also decreased to 430 out of which 56 are in GMC&AH.
As far as vaccination is concerned the district has achieved 77.7% of the 45 plus age group has been covered so far while 83.3% and 93.3% target has been achieved for health care workers and front line workers respectively.
3, 58,953 tests have been conducted in the district to date since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic out of that 1.04,435 were RAT tests.
As far as vaccination is concerned the district has achieved 77.7% of the 45 plus age group target so far while 83.3% and 93.3% target has been achieved far health care workers and front line workers respectively.
To achieve the 100% vaccination target of the 45 plus age group, health teams in the health blocks, especially in the Kandi health block have been visiting the beneficiaries at their doorsteps, in the higher mountain reaches (for the Nomads) after covering long distances on feet.
As the Maize crop sowing season is in progress, people are not coming for vaccination at the designated/session sites. So it was decided to visit the beneficiaries at their homes, fields, and at their working places.
It has been observed that after the relaxation in Covid-19 restrictions, people and shop keepers violating Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) with impunity in the markets in old Rajouri town and in Gujjar Mandi market areas.
If the law enforcing agencies continue to neglect such violations, it can’t be ruled out that in the near future the number of active cases would be on the increasing trend.