India News | Indore: 'Only 6 of 1,058 Samples Test Positive in 24 Hrs'

Indore, Jun 15 (PTI) In a promising trend amid otherwise gloomy corornavirus scenario, only six of 1,058 samples have returned a positive result in the last 24 hours in Indore, which is the lowest such number in a single day in the district in the last 75 days, an official said on Monday.

This is contrary to the Madhya Pradesh government's apprehension that easing of the lockdown would lead to rise in the fresh cases.

Also Read | Maharashtra Can Now Operate 100 Flights Daily, Up From 50 at Present, Says Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Of the total 1,058 samples tested during the last 24 hours, only six new patients of the COVID-19 were found, the Health official said.

This is the minimum number of the persons testing positive for coronavirus in a single day during the last two-and-a-half months, he said.

Also Read | Earthquake in Gujarat: Tremors of Magnitude 3.5 Hit Regions 132 Km North-Northwest of Rajkot, Third Quake in State in 2 Days.

An analysis of government data shows that more number of people had tested positive for coronavirus when over 35 lakh people in Indore district were confined to their homes during the strict lockdown in earlier phases.

Notably, the number of patients has declined after the lockdown was eased recently, allowing people to visit markets and workplace, as per the data.

When asked about this contradictory trend, Indore district in-charge Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) MP Sharma told PTI, "We immediately sent every contact of COVID-19 infected people in quarantine after identification, which helped us stop the spread of infection".

Sharma said awareness about COVID-19 has also increased among the common people, "which also helped in reducing the number of patients".

However, the ground situation in the district seems different from the claims made by government officials, with many instances of violation of physical distancing norms coming to the fore.

"After the lockdown was eased, the number of COVID-19 patients has been rising in other districts of the country which are included in the red zone. So, it is surprising that the daily figure of new infected persons in Indore is reduced to six," said public health expert Amulya Nidhi.

This contradiction must be investigated, he demanded.

He demanded that health department re-test these 1,058 samples to know the actual status of COVID-19 scenario in Indore district.

According to official information, 4,069 COVID-19 cases have been found in Indore district till June 14 out of the total 10,802 cases in the state. 174 patients have died so far in the district.

The number of the recovered patients in the district stood at 2,906.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)