PUNE: The Pune,
Khadki
and Dehu Road cantonment areas have reported a collective positivity rate of 39.57% — way higher than the other components of the district — which can be attributed to “lower testing and crowding during the year-end festivities”.
As per data, the positivity rate in Pune municipal limits stood at 14.47% as on January 6, followed by rural parts (11.52%) of the district and the Pimpri Chinchwad area (10.32%).
“The high positivity rate is not surprising if we look at the crowding events during the week between Christmas and New Year Day in the Camp areas, particularly market thoroughfares like MG Road, East Street and Ambedkar Road,” an official from the Pune cantonment hospital said.
Amit Kumar, the
PCB
’s chief executive officer, said, “We are testing mostly symptomatic individuals. The sudden rise in positive cases could be mainly due to the overall spread of the infection in the district.”
Covid positive cases have also come from the military area of the PCB.
Pramod Kumar Singh
, CEO of the KCB, said, “We have activated 10 beds ICU facility at our general hospital. We are in the process of reopening the dedicated Covid health centre of 100 beds in the
KCB
area for treatment.”
R Haritwal, CEO of the DCB, could not be contacted despite repeated calls.