Over one-fifth of total Covid-19 cases in Pune identified in last two weeks

PMC registered 1,17,679 positive cases till September 12, up by 24,840 from 92,839 on August 29. PMC registered a 26.76 per cent jump in new cases in the previous two weeks as the civic body registered high positivity rate in the last few days.

Despite several measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been witnessing a sharp increase in the number of new patients with over one-fifth of the total positive cases so far identified in the last two weeks. The first case was reported on March 9.

PMC registered 1,17,679 positive cases till September 12, up by 24,840 from 92,839 on August 29. PMC registered a 26.76 per cent jump in new cases in the previous two weeks as the civic body registered high positivity rate in the last few days. Thus, the new cases found in the last two weeks accounted for 21.11 per cent of the total count so far.

The first Covid-19 case was reported in the city on March 9 and a total lockdown was started on March 25 that kept the rate of spread under check. It has been six months that the city has been witnessing the outbreak. As per government directions, PMC has been unlocking the city in phased manners and opened up commercial, industrial and office establishments with guidelines to be followed at the respective places. The public transport bus service and private transport services have been made operational with certain instructions. However, educational institutes, closed entertainment places, restaurants, gymnasium and swimming pools have not been given permission. The civic administration has been declaring containment zones based on the viral infection in different areas and presently have 74 containment zones in the city limits.

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The infection is most in the Ambegaon-Dattanagar-Katraj gaothan ward with 1,476 new cases, an increase of 44.85 per cent, in the last two weeks and the total number of infected stands at 4,767 so far.

The rise accounts for 5.9 per cent of the total rise among the 42 wards and highest among all except for the scattered ward no. 42 in the fringe area across the city which was newly constituted after the areas included in the civic recently and has 1,766 new cases.

There has been an increase of new patients by 42.22 per cent during the same period in Vadgaon Dhayari-Vadgaon Budhruk ward which saw 979 new cases taking the total count to 3,298 on September 12.

The third highest rise in last two weeks was registered in the Vadgaonsheri-Kalyaninagar ward with 875 new patients followed by Mayur Colony-Dahanukar Colony with 873, Mundhwa-Magarpattacity ward with 839, Shaniwarpeth-Sadashivepeth ward with 821 and Kharadi-Chandannagar ward with 818 new cases.

The slowest rise has been of 92 new patients in Ramtekdi-Syednagar ward followed by 122 in Lohiyanagar-Kasewadi ward and 157 in Kondhwa Khurd-Meethanagar ward.