DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Around 40 per cent of the total Covid-19-related fatalities in Punjab took place in the last forty-four days, indicating the severity of the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. Punjab had reported a total of 6,868 deaths due to the infection as on March 31. The death toll rose to 11,477 as on May 14, showing 4,609 more people succumbing to the disease since April 1 this year, the state Health Department's data revealed. The health officials had earlier pointed out that the delay in approaching hospitals for treatment by patients with severe symptoms and comorbidities were the main reasons behind fatalities. Punjab witnessed a record 217 deaths because of the contagion in a single day on May 11. The state has been seeing more than 100 fatalities daily for the past several days. Ludhiana is one of the worst-affected districts in Punjab as it has registered 538 deaths between April 1 and May 14, 2021, as per the data. Besides, Amritsar reported 515 more deaths due to the contagion between April 1 and May 14. During the same period, Patiala saw 396 deaths, Bathinda 349, Mohali 307 and Jalandhar 301, as per the data. The case fatality rate in rural areas is 2.6 per cent as against 0.8 per cent in urban areas, officials said. Apart from this, Punjab has added 2,44,250 fresh cases of infection in the last 44 days. The state had a total of 2,39,734 cases as on March 31. It went up to 4,83,984 between April 1 and May 14, as per the Health Department data. Ludhiana, Mohali, Bathinda, Patiala, Jalandhar and some other districts have witnessed a sharp rise in infections. Punjab's positive rate on Friday stood at around 11 per cent. (editor@dailyworld.in)