The number of active Covid-19 cases in Pune city dropped below 1,000 after months, with PMC areas reporting 994 such cases in total on Tuesday. Of these, 112 were new cases of the 4,780 tested on the day, indicating daily positivity rate of 2.34 per cent. While 119 patients recovered from the viral infection on Tuesday, one person succumbed to the infection. The city had recorded its maximum number of active cases, 56,636, on April 18 this year, at the beginning of the second wave. Till date, Pune has seen 9,067 deaths due to Covid-19 and a total of 5,03,357 cases since the pandemic began in March last year. The overall case fatality rate is 1.8 per cent and the recovery rate is 98 per cent. However, the PMC has made preparations to tackle a possible third wave of infections, with a 800-bed jumbo hospital and two dedicated hospitals in Baner. It has also scaled up infrastructure at the Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in Yerawada for treatment of children infected with coronavirus as experts have said that in case of a third wave, children may be the most affected by it. “The spread of the infection is declining but the PMC is not going to relax, considering the possibility of a third wave. The civic body has scaled up health infrastructure in hospitals and set up oxygen generation and storage plants in various civic hospitals. The PMC has procured Covid testing kits as well as necessary medicines for the treatment of patients,” said a civic health officer. The officer said the PMC's extensive vaccination drive has helped in slowing down of infection. The civic body has so far administered 50 lakh doses to residents and continues with its drive to reach out to each eligible citizen for vaccination. Meanwhile, authorities have relaxed most of the lockdown rules in the city and almost all activities have come back to normal. The festive season is on and people are crowding religious places, markets and tourist places. The PMC has been appealing to citizens to strictly implement Covid-appropriate behaviour of using masks, sanitising hands and avoiding large gatherings in the city. Union Minister of State for Health Dr Bharati Pawar, who visited the PMC on Monday, had also lauded the efforts of the PMC in handling the pandemic. “The steps taken up by PMC need to be followed by other civic bodies in the country to contain the spread of Covid,” she had said. - Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.
