Pune: The strict 10-day lockdown is about to end on Thursday which has had an effect of reducing the total number of Covid-19 cases reported daily, but there has been no respite from the rising number of critical patients and the fatality count so far. The total number of critical patients has now reached 616 and 55 deaths – all in the age groups of 50 to 90 years – were reported in a single day on Tuesday (July 22).

A day before on Monday, there were 591 critical patients undergoing treatment and 29 deaths were reported on that day. On Sunday the same count was 557 and 44 respectively. Thus there has been a rise of 60 critical patients in just two days. According to the daily health bulletin released by Pune Municipal Corporation on Tuesday night, out of the critical 616 patients, 99 patients are on ventilator (invasive) support.

The total count of active cases in the city is now at 15434. Despite claims made by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials and political leaders about augmenting the capacity of ICU, ventilator and oxygen beds available from private and civic hospitals in the city, there is a ‘waiting list’ for new patients to avail these hospital beds as the number of critical patients needing them has also increased consistently. The worrying part is that the shortage of ventilators and oxygen beds required for patients in critical or serious conditions would be covered only after about seven days.

Senior citizens and those with comorbidities are at a higher risk of succumbing to the deadly coronavirus infection. The patients who succumbed to the disease on Sunday were also from the age group of 39 to 50 years and were having other illnesses before they were diagnosed with Covid-19.

COVID-19 DEATHS IN PUNE