50 people have died due to black fungus in Haryana

Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Sunday that 50 people have died due to the black fungus in the state so far, while 650 more are receiving treatment for the infection at various hospitals.

“So far there have been more than 750 cases of black fungus in Haryana. Fifty-eight have been cured, while 50 people have lost their lives and 650 patients are seeking treatment,” Khattar said during a press conference here.

Addressing the conference virtually, he said the government was procuring the injection used in the treatment of black fungus, while some stocks were already available and being used in government hospitals.

“We have 6,000 injection vials. Over the next two days, we will get 2,000 more vials while we have placed an order for another 5,000 vials,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Health Minister Anil Vij had ordered officials to increase the number of beds in all state government medical faculties from 20 to 75 to treat patients infected with black fungus or mucormycosis.

Vij had ordered officials to make the medicines they needed available to these patients without delay and that injections and other medicines should not be missed.

The number of cases of black fungus or mucormycosis has increased in the state over the past two weeks. Earlier, Vij had said that the state government had asked the central government for 12,000 injections of amphotericin-B, the drug used to treat black fungus.

The Haryana government had recently declared black fungus a reported disease, forcing doctors to report any cases of the disease to the medical director of the district in question.