VELLORE/TIRUVANNAMALAI: Covid positive cases have been on the decline in recent weeks in the Vellore region and Tiruvannamalai with the positivity rate coming down below 5 per cent indicating a declining trend.
However, the officials are keeping their fingers crossed as to how the festival seasons are going to impact the graph.
After peaking at 200 new cases per day until August, the infections began the downward slide in the Vellore district. Gradually, it dropped to a daily average of 150 cases to report less than 100.
Now, the daily average stands at 60 and the positivity rate dropped to 2.5 per cent this week against 5 per cent reported last week.
“The daily average of new cases has decreased to 60 now. The positivity rate declined to 2.5 per cent,” Deputy Director (DD) of Health Services, Vellore, T Manivannan said.
There was a significant drop in new cases in the last two weeks in the district where no cluster is prevailing as of now. As many as 2,500 samples are taken every day.
Positive cases were continuously spiraling for several weeks before beginning to decline in the Tiruvannamalai district where the daily average of new cases is below 10, according to officials. The severity of the infection too has lessened.
“The daily average reported in recent weeks is below 10, and the positivity rate is 5 per cent. The severity of the infection too lessened,” said R Meera, DD Health Services.
The total case count stood at 17,563 on Friday.
During the peak, the district reported cases in the range of 250 per day.
The infection has declined so much so that one Covid isolation ward at the Govt Tiruvannamalai Medical College Hospital was wound up.
The Covid infection count has been low in Tirupathur district from the beginning, unlike the neighbouring districts which were reporting high numbers. So far, the newly created district has had just above 6, 612 positive cases.
According to KST Suresh, DD Health Services, the positivity rate is 1.5 per cent with new cases reported daily ranges between 20 and 25.
Fresh infections in Ranipet district too have decreased to well under 30 in the recent days.
Despite the fact that Covid positives cases have been on the wane, the festival season, during which, people gather in large numbers giving scant respect to social distancing norms and personal safety, may lead to a spike in numbers. However, it should come to be known only after a couple of weeks from the festivities.
“Pooja holidays have just got over. So, we have to wait until a period of 15 days to ascertain whether there is a spike or not,” said a public health expert.
Awareness activities have been stepped up to forewarn the people of impending danger.
The Deepavali festivities too are going to be worrisome for the Covid warriors, he noted.