Coronavirus cases in India are reaching new peaks as the second wave is wrecking havoc in the country. During the second of Covid-19, India is reporting more than 2 lakh cases on a daily basis.
The current situation shows that more people are now testing positive. Also, the positivity rates this year is higher compared to the first wave of COVID-19 last year. According to a report by The Indian Express, 13.5 percent of the total COVID-19 tests have turned out to be positive in just one week.
On the back of this, the average positivity rate for seven days has been the highest. The positivity rate indicates the spread of disease.
Moreover, the need for supplemental oxygen is much higher than before. Many people have taken to social media to point out how they are being sent from one hospital to another due to the lack of oxygen support. A key government task force is keeping an eye on the whole process in order to deal with this.
As per another IE report, 54.5 percent of people who were admitted to hospitals during the second wave needed supplemental oxygen during the time of treatment.
In an exclusive interaction with HealthWire, Dr. Amit Priyadarshi, M.ch, Trauma surgery and critical care, JPN Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS New Delhi, and Dr. Rahul Kumar, Director, Jai Mangla Clinic Begusarai, explained the rate of positivity and increased death rates in the second wave of Covid-19.
“The second is quite different from the first wave. In the first wave, the disease course was not that aggressive as the second wave. In the second-wave, number of positivity rate, death rates, and respiratory disturbance is more than the first wave. During this time, in the first week patients are having mild symptoms but are facing severe issues in the second week which was not the same in the first wave. During the first wave the patient’s condition degraded within 5 days to 1 week but in the second wave, the condition of the patients deteriorates in just 24-48 hours,” said Dr. Amit Priyadarshi.
