Rajasthan: Over 200 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours amid 2nd wave fears
Several experts said that full-scale resumption of economic activity, near full people movement and laxity in compliance to Covid appropriate behaviour are reasons behind the recent spurt in cases.
For the first time in 39 days, the number of new Covid-19 cases registered within a 24-hour span crossed the 200-mark to reach 215 on March 3, fuelling apprehensions of a second wave of the disease in the state. New Covid-19 cases jumped by 110% in just 24 hours--from 102 registered on Tuesday to 215 on Wednesday. Similar number of new cases was seen 40 days ago, when 203 new Covid-19 cases were reported on January 23, after which new cases were in continued decline, reaching 60 on February 16.
New Covid-19 cases dwindled between 60 and 99 between February 16 and February 24, before setting on a path of gradual incline since February 25, when 128 new cases were registered. Out of the 200 new cases registered on Wednesday; 40 were reported from Jaipur alone, while 50 were from Dungarpur district, where a particular locality has been sealed to contain the spurt.
"Unlocking of shopping malls, schools, cinema halls, transportation and other sectors have increased interpersonal contacts while apparently people have also stopped following Covid-19 protocols in the best possible manner, which is leading to a spurt in Covid-19 cases," said Dr Sudhir Bhandari, the principal, Sawai Man Singh Hospital, Jaipur.
In the coaching city of Kota, 11 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported on Wednesday. Chief medical and health officer, Kota, Dr BS Tanwar attributed the rise to reopening of coaching institutes, schools, resumption of full-scale weddings and increase in railway traffic as contributing factors for a spike in Covid-19 cases.
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Chief medical and health officer, Dungarpur, Rajeev Sharma had a different take on the spurt. He said it was also due to regular sampling and a ‘proactive’ health department keeping a close eye on public gatherings. Sharma refused to label the recent spurt as the second wave of Covid-19.
On the vaccination front, a total of 373,916 persons were vaccinated in the state in the first three days of the phase-2 of the drive. 196,144 of the beneficiaries were above 60 years in age.
