The Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread its tentacles in what many say is the second wave, claiming 22 more lives in Punjab on Saturday, raising the death toll due to the disease to 6,052 in the State.
The infection count too climbed to 1,96,263 with 1,515 fresh coronavirus cases reported in the State, a medical bulletin said. The total number of active cases in the State is 10,916.
Punjab’s total eight districts have come under ‘night curfew’ rule with the Districts Administration of Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib also ordering re-imposition of clampdown from the night of March 12. Already, night curfew is in place from 11 pm to 5 am in Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, and Hoshiarpur districts.
The state, on Friday, had reported 34 deaths — highest in the past five months. Before this, the state had reported 35 fatalities on October 9, the previous year.
Punjab has been witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases for nearly four weeks.
Meanwhile, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has been tested positive for COVID-19. Badal, who had presented the budget on March 8, confirmed that he had got tested before the assembly session and then again immediately after it. “Before the session, I tested negative. After the session, I have tested positive,” he said.
144 NEW CASES, ONE DEATH IN CHANDIGARH
As many as 144 more coronavirus cases surfaced in Chandigarh on Saturday, taking the infection count to 22,976 in the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, according to a medical bulletin.
Meanwhile, one more person died due to Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths to 358 in the union territory.
The number of active cases has risen to 1032 on Saturday, the bulletin said, adding that 47 patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 21,586. A total of 2,76,905 samples have been taken for testing till now in the union territory, of which 2,52,953 tested negative while reports of 109 samples are awaited, as per the bulletin.
424 NEW CASES, 4 DEATHS IN HARYANA
Haryana on Saturday recorded 424 Covid-19 cases, taking the infection count in the state to 2,74,697, a health department bulletin said. Four more Covid-19 deaths were reported on Saturday, taking the total death toll in the State to 3073.
Of the new cases, 96, 72 and 62 infections were reported from Karnal, Gurugram and Panchkula districts respectively.
The number of active cases in the state stands at 2,952 while the recovery rate is 97.81 per cent, the bulletin said.