Chandigarh has reached its peak, says PGIMER director

The city has reached its peak now. Now it is extremely important to take precautions. This is a really crucial time for all of us and we can’t let our guards down thinking everything is open.

At the same time, detection of the infection has also increased. If you see, testing has increased a lot even nationally where a few thousand tests were conducted initially, now it has increased by a million.

What precautions do you advise as the city has reached its peak?

I reiterate that now it is a highly crucial time for all of us. People have to follow protocol like wearing mask and distancing at all costs. People should avoid crowds and meeting people. I have seen people are going and meeting relatives and friends. Go out or meet people only if it is necessary. This is no time for parties or excursions or gatherings, as we have to be really cautious.

We can prevent ourselves from contracting the infections if people wear masks, wash hands, follow hygiene and maintain distancing.

In just one week, 1000 fresh cases in Chandigarh were reported. What do you have to say about it?

The multiplication rate has increased massively and the way people are not following the protocol, they don’t even mask up, and have gone lax, it appears that the infection can even spread in 8 to 10 minutes of interaction. The government has given relaxations to help people, but they should not think that the pandemic is over.

When do you think will the cases come down?

We are hopeful of seeing a downward trend by September-October. Only a day left for September to begin, so this month particularly is a dicey period as the cases are increasing. There is a notion that because the government has opened up everything, it is over. It isn’t over yet. We have to be on alert and maintain the same protocol as we did during the initial phase of the lockdown, till this gets over.