This story is from August 1, 2020

Cases doubled, but Ghaziabad brought death rate to 0.2%

Cases doubled, but Ghaziabad brought death rate to 0.2%
Picture for representational purpose only.
GHAZIABAD/NOIDA: The death rate in Ghaziabad has come down in July despite a rise in the number of Covid patients from last month. The district had reported 51 Covid-related deaths against 1,462 patients in June. This month, when Ghaziabad recorded 3,137 new cases, just six patients succumbed to the virus.
The case fatality rate (CFR) — the number of deaths per 100 patients — has also come down from 3.5% in June to 0.2% this month.
Ghaziabad’s average CFR is 1.3%.
In Noida, the CFR peaked in May and reached 2.7 deaths per 100 infections. Since then, it has steadily declined. The death rate in the city for June and July was 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively. The overall CFR is 0.8% for Noida. For both the twin towns, the CFR has been below the state average of 2% and the national rate of 2.2%.
Unlike in other parts of the country and the world, it is not the elderly who have accounted for the maximum deaths in Ghaziabad. Here, 28% of the fatalities are in the age bracket of 41 and 50 years. In Noida, however, the pattern is more generic — majority of the patients who have died are aged between 61 and 70 years.
The least vulnerable among various age groups is the 0-20 year band, which has not seen a single Covid death in both the districts.
A gender-wise break-up of the deaths has also shown that men are more susceptible to the infection. In Ghaziabad, 63% of those who have succumbed to the virus are men while the corresponding figure is 69% for Noida.
When the number of Covid-related deaths started to rise in Ghaziabad, district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey deputed a nodal magistrate to oversee timely referral of patients to higher facilities.

Moreover, a SARI ward was also set up at MMG District Hospital to provide treatment to patients suffering from breathing difficulties.
Asked how Ghaziabad managed to bring down the death rate, DM Pandey said, “We did two major interventions. First, a centralised control system was constituted at the District Collectorate for monitoring, sampling, testing, and allocating facilities to patients. The second step was to enhance testing facilities and detect a patient at an early stage. Those who were admitted at level 2 and 3 facilities were treated under the protocol meticulously.”
Officials in Noida, too, cited early detection of patients for being able to keep the CFR below 1%. “As soon as a patient is taken to a Covid care facility in Noida or Greater Noida, doctors and healthcare staff follow a set procedure. Patients are constantly monitored for vital signs. A lot of medical professionals from across the country as well as from abroad are interacting with senior doctors deputed in level 2 and 3 facilities here to note down the procedure that is being followed,” Noida district magistrate Suhas LY said.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA