Gurugram: While the number of daily COVID-19 cases in Gurugram is seeing a slight dip, what has got district health officials worried is the significant increase in fatalities. On average, there are four deaths from the virus reported from the district every day.
Moreover, as a major cause for concern, there has also been a sudden increase in COVID-19 deaths of patients who had not reported having any comorbidities.
From June till the third week of November, the number of persons who died due to COVID-19 but did not possess comorbidities was less than 50. However, this number has now increased to 72. Most of these patients who have died without comorbidities were found to be in their middle ages between 41 and 60.
Poor contact tracing is being considered one of the primary reasons for the surge in deaths of patients without comorbidities.
With a massive spike in the number of cases in Gurugram in the aftermath of the festive season, district officials faced severe criticism for poor contact tracing. While basic directions were to trace at least 10 contacts per positive case, officials were only tracing three per patient.
While keeping with global trends of a majority of deaths being that of patients with comorbidities, of the total 317 deaths in Gurugram so far, 245 had comorbidities and 72 did not have any.
The increase in the number of fatalities has also resulted in an increase in the fatality rate in Gurugram, which currently hovers around 0.6 per cent and is fast inching towards 1 per cent.
Taking cognizance of rising cases, a team of medical experts from the Central Government headed by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria recently visited Gurugram.
The number of beds for COVID-19 patients has also been increased in Gurugram. Earlier where there were 1,975 beds with oxygen cylinders now have been increased to 2,632.
For the treatment of critical patients, the number of ICU beds has been increased from 260 to 367 and the beds with ventilator facilities have been increased from 122 to 253. Once again, it is private hospitals in Gurugram which have taken lead in increasing the capacity of beds for COVID-19 patients.