Puducherry witnessed a big jump in the number of fresh coronavirus cases with 280 infections being reported during the last 24 hours ending 10 a.m. on Saturday pushing up the overall tally to 1,30,278.
The new cases identified at the end of examination of 3,554 samples were spread over Puducherry 234, Karaikal 27 and Mahe 19. A 57 year old man hailing from neighbouring Villianur succumbed to the virus, raising the toll to 1882.
Director of Health G Sriramulu said the active cases were 825 with 96 patients being in hospitals taking treatment and the remaining 729 patients in home isolation. The Director said 16 patients recovered and were discharged during the last twenty-four hours while overall recoveries stood at 1,27,571. The test positivity rate was 7.88 percent while fatality and recovery rates were 1.44 percent and 97.92 percent respectively.
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The Department of Health has tested 20,66,680 samples and has found 17, 55, 037 to be negative. Sriramulu said the department has administered 14,51,290 which comprised 8,74,619 first doses and remaining 5,76,671 were second.
Meanwhile, Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan inaugurated the special drive to vaccinate students between 15 to 18 years of age in a private school in neighbouring Vanrapet hamlet and said as the number of cases had been on the rise in the union territory, Prime Minister Narendara Modi would inaugurate the 25th National Youth Festival through virtual mode on January 12 from the capital.
Earlier, Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the festival in Puducherry on January 12. But the surge in new cases has now necessitated the PM to inaugurate the festival virtually. She said that the adolescents were showing greater enthusiasm in taking the jabs and the adults should take the youth as a model to get themselves vaccinated.
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Soundararajan said Chief Minister N Rangasamy was very keen to ensure that Puducherry emerged a cent percent vaccinated Union Territory. She also appealed to the legislators in Puducherry to mobilise people in their respective constituencies for vaccination and this would facilitate the achievement of the goal to have a totally vaccinated Union Territory.
The Lt Governor said that 75 percent of the people had taken the first jab while 50 percent had taken both the doses. DMK legislator Annibal Kennedy, Director of Health G.Sriramulu and other officials of the department of Health and school staff were present.
-With PTI Inputs
