Covid cases cross 2 lakh mark in Chittoor district

Tirupati: Covid positive cases have crossed two lakh mark in Chittoor district with the rampant second wave. During April 1 to June 7 itself the district reported a total number of 1,12,347 cases while the preceding one year period accounted for 92,614 infections.

It has become the second district in the state after East Godavari in crossing two lakh Covid cases. Till now, total cases in the district are 2,04,961 while it tops the death toll with 1,401. As the lockdown has not given any respite from the increasing spread of the virus, the district had gone through a tough phase in May with 70,467 cases and 327 official deaths.

In fact, May has created havoc in the district forcing the officials to stand on their toes to create the necessary infrastructure. With the huge number of Covid cases, the dependency on oxygen has also increased and both SVIMS and Ruia faced tense situations with management of oxygen supplies. Ruia hospital has witnessed a tragedy on May 10 with low pressure in oxygen supply reportedly claiming the lives of at least 23 patients.

During the last one week, the cases have started receding slowly and after 41 days the district witnessed less than 1,000 cases on Monday. The same day, Tirupati reported a much smaller number of 43 cases. While the police were acting tough on those violating lockdown restrictions, the officials are of the view that the second wave impact has been coming down. They expect that the cases will further come down in the next few days.

However, on Tuesday, there was a slight jump in the number of infections as 1,210 new cases were reported out of which Tirupati accounted for 127. Still, on the whole there was a drop of at least 500-1,000 daily cases. Accordingly, the burden on hospitals and Covid care centres is also coming down. According to official sources, the oxygen consumption has also come down now.

Out of 990 Covid beds in Ruia hospital, 525 active cases were in admission by Tuesday and 465 beds including oxygen and ICU beds are lying vacant. In SVIMS, out of 675 beds 387 have been getting treatment. However, black fungus infections have been increasing and in SVIMS, 95 patients are admitted with the disease, said medical superintendent Dr Ram. In addition, more than 70 black fungus patients are there in Ruia hospital. Many patients are said to be going to neighbouring states for treatment.