Dahod sees dip in cases after July peak

VADODARA: From a peak of 39 Covid-19 cases on a single day in July to new cases in single digits, Dahod district seems to have slowed down the spread of the viral infection significantly. The district, particularly the district headquarters Dahod town, had been reeling under the epidemic till September.
The relaxation in lockdown guidelines had brought in bad news for the district as cases started spiraling.Officials were kept on their toes and many including the district development officer, the chief district health officer and district education officer, too, suffered from Covid-19.
But September seems to have started slowing things down considerably with only one case being recorded on Monday and six on Tuesday. Officials, however, say that the lower numbers do not imply that the administration or people start taking things easily.
“There have been days when we registered new cases in single digits. But these have not been continuous. We have been monitoring the situation very closely and discuss it daily night at 9pm with health officials, including those at the primary health centres,” said Dahod collector, Vijay Kharadi.
Kharadi pointed out that around 200 persons very examined every day by health workers as a part of extensive contact tracing drives. “Even if a person who is in close contact with a positive case is not identified and moves around for two-three days without being traced, he can spread the disease widely,” he said.
Apart from contact tracing, extensive door-to-door health survey drives have been taken up. Kharadi said that out of 55 Dhanvantari Arogya Raths in the district, 33 had been deployed in Dahod town. “Most of the cases were being reported from the town and it was important that we control the situation there,” said Kharadi.
Kharadi added that even till a handful of cases were being reported, the administration will have to remain alert. “We will have to monitor the situation closely in the coming months,” he said.