Coronavirus | 1,122 fresh cases, 12 deaths reported in Puducherry

Toll rises to 793; a record 9,727 tests conducted in the last 24 hours

Stern warning: A traffic policeman reprimanding a bus conductor for allowing standing passengers.

The COVID-19 toll in the Union Territory rose to 793 with 12 deaths reported on Thursday, even as 1,122 new cases were detected from a record 9,727 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

Puducherry recorded 9 deaths, Karaikal two and Mahe one. With this, the region-wise cumulative toll was 638 in Puducherry, 93 in Karaikal, 48 in Yanam and 14 in Mahe. The patients, including three women, were in the 36-80 age group. Five of them had no comorbidities.

Puducherry accounted for 940 new cases, Karaikal 101, Yanam 30 and Mahe 51.

The test positivity rate was 11.53%, the case fatality rate 1.38% and the recovery rate 82.97%.

With 564 patients recovering from the infection, the active cases stood at 8,689. Of them, 1,681 were in hospitals and 7,308 in home isolation.

The bed occupancy status was as follows: Jipmer (277), IGMCRI (311) and COVID Care Centres (815).

The cumulative caseload in the Union Territory was 57,427, with 47,645 patients having recovered.

Of an estimated 7.86 lakh tests conducted by the Health Department till date, over 7.04 lakh returned negative.

Meanwhile, 187 healthcare workers, 60 frontline staff and 892 members of the public took their first shots of the COVID-19 vaccine in the last 24 hours.

The total number of people vaccinated in the Union Territory till date is 1,92,910, including 31,907 healthcare workers, 18,591 frontline staff and 1,42,412 members of the public.

Health Secretary T. Arun said late admissions continued to be the major factor behind mortalities. Most of the deaths in the last 24 hours, for instance, occurred within two to three days of admission.

Patients were ignoring symptoms and reporting to hospitals late, often when they began developing breathlessness, he said. He appealed to the patients not to take fever, throat pain or runny nose lightly, and to get themselves tested without delay.

The test volumes had been ramped up manifold, reflecting good public participation, he noted. He appealed to the public to get themselves tested at the nearest public health centre or the IGMCRI as early detection was crucial. “We have facilities, including test kits, and the manpower to test even up to 12,000 samples per day,” he said.

The Health Department had received a consignment of 1,000 vials of Remdesivir. There was no need to panic as there was no shortage on any front, he said.