Covid-19 crisis: Rohtak village grapples with rising cases, ‘mystery fever’ as 18 die in 10 days

Due to rise in Covid-19 cases in Titoli and neighbouring villages, district authorities are setting up the first care centre in rural Haryana

In the past 10 days, 18 people have died in Titoli village in Rohtak district -- six of them were healthcare workers and were confirmed to have died of Covid-19. However, villagers claim that almost 40 people died in a span of two weeks due to a "mystery fever".

Suresh Kumar, representing his sister-in-law and village sarpanch Pramila, told The Indian Express, “Last week, I prepared a list of 32 persons who died recently. After that, the village has been witnessing an average of two deaths a day due to high temperature.’’

According to health officials, the claim made by villagers is “exaggerated”. But they do admit that the Covid-19 cases in the village are increasing at an alarming rate. On Monday, 15 out of 75 people tested were Covid-19 positive in Titoli village. Also, in the past 10 days, 746 people tested from Titoli and neighbouring villages and 159 were found positive for Covid-19.

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“This time, coronavirus is spreading more in villages as compared to the previous year. There is more social interaction among villagers as they meet over hookah and play cards together. We are collecting samples from all villages of the district to find out the impact of the fever. Now whenever we come across anyone with a fever, we conduct a Covid test,” Dr Anil Birla, Rohtak’s Chief Medical Officer, told the publication.

“Besides Covid, some people died due to other illnesses such as jaundice and cardiac attack,” he said about the deaths in Rohtak.

Looking at the increase in Covid-19 cases in Titoli and neighbouring villages, district authorities have taken the initiative to set up a 20-bed care centre in the village, which is almost 60 km from Delhi. It’ll be the first Covid centre in rural Haryana.

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Titoli has a population of 13,000 people and there is a high chance of the virus spreading quickly around the village. Hence, awareness drives being held by the sarpanch. People are being asked to practice social distancing and follow the Covid-19 protocols.

In this month, the Covid-19 positivity rate in Rohtak district has jumped from 5.2 percent to 14 percent.