On March 17, 2020, the first patient with COVID-19 symptoms, a Dubai returnee and resident of Alipuram, was admitted to a hospital. Two days later, his samples turned positive and the 65-year-old was declared as the first COVID-19 case in the city. Thankfully, he recovered and was tested negative after undergoing treatment for about 20 days in a hospital.
It has been two years since the virus had started to spread its tentacles in the city and from milder versions it has seen the devastating effects of the second wave.
Present status
After seeing a rapid increase during the third wave, which was a combination of the Delta variant and the Omicron, from January first week to February first week, cases started to drop from the second week of February.
A girl getting a jab of COVID vaccine as part of the drive in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: File photo: K.R. DEEPAK
“As of now we are in a comfortable position with the cases dropping to single digits since the first week of March and we can say that the wave has tapered down and is nearing normalcy,” said a senior doctor from King George Hospital.
As on Monday, the number of cases recorded in the district was only two and the active cases have dropped to 33, which was hovering around 12,000 in the last week of January.
Since the outbreak of the virus in March 2020, the total cases recorded in the district, as on Monday morning, are around 1.90 lakh and the recoveries are 1.89 lakh. The total deaths recorded are 1,184.
The past
Though the number of cases was high, the severity and transmissibility was a tad lower in the first wave than the second wave. The first wave lasted from March 2020 to February 2021, with the wave peaking in the months of July and August. It started to taper down from September and the curve started to flatten from November 2020. The number of cases recorded during the first wave was around 50,000, with July and August contributing close to 30,000 cases. The death toll during the first wave was around 500.
Family members of a COVID victim mourn after performing the last rites at Chavulamadum cremation ground in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: File photo: K.R. DEEPAK
The city and the district was hit or rather devastated during the second wave that began in the last week of March 2021. It peaked in the months of April, May and June and over 70,000 cases were recorded in those three months. Though the official death toll was around 550 during that period, the death certificates issued by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in the months of April and May was over 5,300.
More importantly, it was the scarcity of oxygenated beds, oxygen cylinders and critical life-saving drugs such as Remdesivir that added to the woes of the people and horrified the scenario. The black-marketeers and hoarders made the hay to their best, as one oxygen cylinder was being sold for ₹35,000 and Remdesivir price shot up to ₹50,000. Patients were seen huffing and panting for lack of oxygen outside hospitals that had long queues of patients.
The second one was the Delta wave and it was high in severity and transmissibility. But again the curve started to flatten from September and by December it was close to normal, only to be hit by the Omicron variant in January, this year.
Future
But has the city learnt? According to the senior doctors, letting down the guard immediately as the cases come down, has been the issue in this city.
“Now we have the stealth Omicron making waves in China and there is a prediction that the fourth wave may be hitting India around June. And this is the time that we need to be careful,” said former principal of Andhra Medical College P.V. Sudhakar.
According to him, wearing a mask should continue to be an integral part of life and staying away from crowds is advisable.
“There is no need for any severe measures as of now, the schools and colleges can go as it is, but avoiding crowds should also be made part of our daily regimen,” said Dr. Sudhakar.
