1.1K cases; rural Ggm behind on vax

Gurugram: As Gurugram on Wednesday reported yet another record surge in Covid-19 cases with 1,151 new infections, authorities in the district have now decided to expand their vaccination drive to reach out to the rural population of the city.

While private hospitals and healthcare facilities have been a boon for residents during the pandemic, rural residents of Gurugram have had to struggle for care with very few options in government healthcare and a lack of funds to avail private care.

A similar trend is leaving behind rural residents here behind in the number of vaccinations. From April 1 to 13, Gurugram administered Covid-19 vaccine doses to 1.05 lakh. Of this, only 15,500 were in rural Gurugram

Officials have now said that special mobile vans for vaccination had been launched to specifically reach out and vaccinate the maximum number of people in rural Gurugram. This comes after the district's success with vaccine centres in residential societies and corporate offices.

But the three districts that come under rural Gurugram — Pataudi, Farrukh Nagar and Sohna — continue to report an increased number of new infections. For instance, Pataudi is reporting more than 100 cases daily for the last three to four days and Farrukh Nagar and Sohna are not far behind.

The city also reported one death from the virus on Wednesday, taking the death toll here to 371. Amid the alarming situation in Gurugram, Dy CM Dushyant Chautala visited the city on Wednesday and allayed fears of a full lockdown, saying economic activities must not be adversely affected.