By Dr Nitin Pandey
DEHRADUN, 13 Aug: Thursday was another day of increasing numbers, new cases increased by a record 66,999 and the number of recoveries also increased by a record of 56,383, something which we all expect as the Pandemic plays out its course. Net gain in number of active cases was just 9674. Maharashtra recorded the highest number of new cases in India, 12,712, along with the highest number of recoveries 13,408, showing a net decline in active case numbers. AP, TN, Karnataka, Bihar, UP all have been following a similar pattern over the last few days. What is comforting is that even though the absolute numbers are increasing, which we all expect, the recovery rates have been increasing every day, it is now 70.77%, and the fatality rate has been decreasing daily to 1.96% now. Gradually, the recovery rate will increase to 99% and the pandemic will be over.
An interesting piece of news coming out of UK is that the price of pups there has risen by 50 – 90% since the outbreak of COVID-19 and Google search for “buying a puppy “in UK has increased by 166%.
Paralleling the report of International Labor Organisation, which I quoted yesterday, in which 50% youth in 117 countries were found to be anxious or stressed, a similar report was released on Thursday by Population Foundation of India, revealing that, in UP, one in four youth had stress or depression. Of these people, 92% people reported a significant increase in social media use during the lockdown. This shows how negative stressful FB, WhatsApp posts can actually lead to depression. As many as 60% youth interviewed had anxiety about their ability to find a job.
Uttarakhand had 416 new cases with 327 recoveries, increasing our active case count by just 89. Dehradun had 36 new cases and almost equal 31 recoveries. Udham Singh Nagar reported 192 cases. Unfortunately, the Uttarakhand Government has stopped giving details of the cases in its daily briefing, so it is impossible to access the extent of local spread. I hope they restart giving the details soon, which are so vital. Three fatalities occurred in Rishikesh on Thursday.
(Dr Nitin Pandey is a Dehradun based ex Indian Air Force doctor, a Pediatrician and an active Social worker.)
