Strict restriction comes into force to contain spread
Dimapur, May 5: Dimapur is seeing a rise in death toll from the latest spate of Covid-19 cases, and it’s poised to get worse in the weeks to come.
Dimapur has seen at least 12 deaths this month. On May 1, the number of deaths reported in Dimapur was 2, May 2 – 1 death, May 3 – 6 deaths, May 4 – 3 deaths and May 5 – nil.
The surge in infections is not restricted to Dimapur municipal area alone but has spread throughout the district, although most cases are reported from the municipal areas.
The rising Covid death toll in Nagaland (118 till date) is still in large part driven by the rising number of deaths in Dimapur District. Without those, the State’s fatalities trend is still just barely beginning to steepen.
Covid deaths often trail infections by weeks, and it can take even longer for the deaths to get disclosed, meaning the fatalities trend line often starts rising well after cases. It can also remain elevated well after the surge has subsided.
Despite the lack of testing, it seems fairly clear that Covid-19 is sweeping through Dimapur District. Even health officials admit that the spread is a little too much this time as compared to last year.
This year, Nagaland started experiencing a surge in Covid-19 infections around the third week of April with the number of cases exploding beginning from the fourth week. On April 20, 82 cases were detected and since then it has been an upward trend. On Wednesday (May 5), the highest one day spike of cases this year was reported at 287. Since April 20 till date, the State has reported 2433 cases.
Out of the State’s total cases of 2433 since April 20, the bulk of the infections were reported from Dimapur District alone at 1765, which accounts for over 70% of the cases.
While these numbers are overwhelming; the true numbers are likely to be much higher given the State’s lackadaisical testing.
More ominously, the virus is no longer restricted to Dimapur municipal area alone. The beleaguered health infrastructure here, which recently saw migrants return home from neighbouring Assam after casting vote there in the assembly elections, is already overwhelmed, conversations with people, health workers and officials suggest.
The burst of cases has meant additional pressure on the already overburdened health facilities here.
A health official said, “I won’t say our health system has collapsed but it is at an alarming stage due to the resurgence,” adding the overall situation in Dimapur was critical.
Meanwhile Dimapur municipal area, Chumoukedima town council area and colonies & villages have been declared as containment zones from Wednesday night (7 pm) for 7 days in order to control spike and spread of the virus in the district.
(Page News Service)
