Madhya Pradesh: 18,000 more Covid cases in July, higher than 3 months' tally

Bhopal: There was more than 133% increase in Covid-19 cases in the month of July than June in Madhya Pradesh. A whopping 18,213 new patients were found in July alone — taking the tally of Covid-19 cases in the state to 31,806.

A total of 13,593 people tested positive in July alone while the total number of cases rose to 18,213 since March 20 when the first case was detected in Jabalpur.

Similarly, 572 deaths were reported in the first 112 days of the pandemic while 295 deaths were reported in July alone taking the toll to 867.

However, when it comes to tests there was a significant increase in number of tests conducted in the state in July. There was an increase of 110% in number of tests done in July compared to the status till June 30.

While only 3.65 lakh tests were conducted till June 30, more than 4 lakh tests were carried out in July alone. Thus tests and number of positive cases increased simultaneously in the state, though the increase in tests helped the state government identify patients.

The positivity rate—number of people testing positive per 100 samples—has also increased in July. It was around 3.7% till June 30, that increased alarmingly to 4.5% in July, clearly suggesting that it is not only the increase in tests that led to the increase in number of patients, but the spread of disease has also increased in July, say sources.

Of the 18,213 new cases reported in July — four districts Bhopal (3,524), Indore (2,619), Gwalior (1,882) and Morena (1,165) alone contributed to 50.4% of the cases as 9,190 cases were reported from these districts. Similarly, 9,000 cases were reported from other districts in July.

However, the highest rise in positive cases in terms of percentage was reported from Alirajpur district, where a whopping 4000% increase was registered. Alirajpur is followed by Sehore that reported 1,660% increase. Though in terms of numbers so far only 166 positive cases have been reported in Alirajpur but the district had only reported 4 positive cases till June 30. Same is the case with Sehore, where only 265 cases were reported in July while first 15 cases were reported in the district till June 30. This trend also clearly signifies that now it is not only the hotspots like Bhopal and Indore but covid-19 is spreading throughout the state.