11 new COVID cases across Gurgaon, Faridabad; 29 active cases in both districts

In Faridabad, 130 samples were tested, and five COVID-positive cases were detected. Three patients recovered from the disease, and the active and cumulative number of cases in the district stood at 12 and 26, respectively.

There have been no deaths yet in Haryana, and all patients in Gurgaon are under home isolation. The health department had earlier stated that the situation was under control and that there was no cause for worry with the rise in mild symptomatic COVID-19 cases.

“All the pandemic-era precautionary measures and advisories, including mask-wearing, have been reissued and reiterated to hospitals. For now, we have made available 500 beds across isolation wards in government hospitals and other sites for any rise in serious cases. We will increase the number if and when the need arises. We have told hospitals to carry out tests for those showing symptoms. There is no reason to panic, the situation is well under control,” Dr Alka Singh, Chief Medical Officer, Gurgaon, told The Indian Express last month.

“There is no need to panic. It is an endemic (disease) now. Many people with symptoms are likely to test positive,” Dr Singh added.

Following a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, India too has seen fresh cases, with a majority of them being reported from Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. However, most of the cases are mild and not associated with severity or mortality.

Around the time the second wave of COVID-19 peaked in India, the Haryana government launched a door-to-door screening programme in rural areas across the state on May 15, 2021. Till June 3 of that year, over 1.66 crore people were screened, which was roughly around 60 per cent of the state’s 2.91 crore population.

In May of that year, the transmission rate of the disease had been found to be rapidly increasing in rural areas. A survey conducted by the state’s health department on COVID-19 patients admitted in various hospitals revealed that 68 per cent were from urban areas, while 32 per cent of the patients were from rural areas.

During the second wave, Haryana had imposed a one-week lockdown on May 3, which was extended multiple times. However, as fresh cases continued to dip, the state government gradually relaxed various curbs.