Puducherry’s COVID-19 toll rose to 521, with four more patients succumbing to the infection on Wednesday. The Union Territory recorded 491 new cases, from the 4,938 tests, taking its tally to 27,544.
The capital recorded three deaths and Karaikal one. The patients, all male, were in the 44-67 age group. The fatality rate stood at 1.89%, positivity rate at 9.94% and recovery rate at 80.14%. Puducherry registered 382 new cases, followed by Karaikal (76), Yanam (23) and Mahe (10), taking the aggregate of active cases to 4,949. The number of patients under home isolation stood at 3,134.
S. Mohan Kumar, health director, said 458 patients were discharged after treatment during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of patients discharged to 22,074. Of the 1.84 lakh samples tested so far, 1.53 lakh have returned negative. Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi said the police guesthouse at Gorimedu would be converted into a COVID-19 care centre for children.
A reserve pool of staff will be created to substitute temporary vacancies in PHCs. Nursing college and paramedical students will be engaged as interns and drafted into the reserve pool to overcome the shortage of health workers, Ms. Bedi said after a review meeting with health secretary T. Arun.
Commune panchayats have been asked to notify disinfection schedules in rural areas.
Regarding the enclaves, the Karaikal administration will be submitting a plan to increase the bed capacity, while in Mahe, the bed strength will be increased from the existing 270 to over 1,000.
The Ayurveda College would be converted into a Covid Care Centre after ongoing examinations conclude, the Lt. Governor said. As the GH is functioning as a COVID facility, PHCs would cater to non-COVID patients. The testing in Mahe will be increased from existing levels by deploying more rapid antigen kits, it was decided.
