Another 87 persons, including the pilgrims from Gurdwara Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra, migrants, a labourer, a combine worker, and persons with Influenza like Illness (ILI), were tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday in Punjab, taking the state’s total tally to 1731.
In addition, the State reported one more death from Zirakpur in Mohali district, with state’s death toll standing at 29.
Of the total 1731 confirmed cases in the state, 1550 are active. Till date, total 37,950 samples have been tested, and 31,219 tested negative while the results for 5000 are yet to receive.
As per the daily health bulletin, at least 43 of the fresh cases were pilgrims who recently returned from Maharashtra’s Nanded and tested positive and four were migrant workers.
With 11 more cases, including 10 of Nanded pilgrims, and one of ILI, Amritsar continued to retain the top position of the most affected district in the state with 287 cases. Jalandhar, which also reported 11 cases on Friday, is the second in the list with 158 cases. Retaining the third spot, Tarn Taran also reported 11 new cases, all of Nanded pilgrims, taking the district’s tally to 157.
Among the 87 positive cases reported, maximum 24 were reported from Gurdaspur, with majority (17 cases) related to the Nanded pilgrims. The district now has total 115 cases.
SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr), which had once shed the corona affected tag, is now back in its grip with total 103 positive cases reported till date, of which 84 are active while 18 have recovered and one has succumbed to the deadly virus. Out of total 18 new cases reported on Friday, 10 are related to Nanded pilgrims while four new cases are related to the migrants.
Kapurthala also reported five new cases, all of them pilgrims who tested positive. Fathegarh Sahib reported four new cases, one of who was contact of an already diagnosed case. A labourer was tested positive in Mansa, while Bathinda also reported a confirmed cases with the patient having ILI. One combine worker was tested positive in Barnala.
Six districts — Amritsar (287), Jalandhar (158), Tarn Taran (157), Ludhiana (125), Gurdapsur (109) and SBS Nagar (103) — account for 54 per cent of Punjab’s total Covid-19 cases.
An elderly man who died of coronavirus on Thursday was among two people who tested positive in Mohali on Friday.
A 74-year-old man from Batlana in Mohali’s Zirakpur, died at a private hospital in Chandigarh's Sector 26 on Thursday evening. After his test results came back positive, hospital management informed Mohali district administration, said Mohali Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh.
A 24-year-old woman from Nayagaon who recently had a baby at Government Multi Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 also tested positive.
Besides, Hoshiarpur also reported that a 50-year-old man died on Friday, taking the district's Covid toll to four.
Neither cases have been added to the state's official tally yet, but when they are, it would take Mohali's tally to 98 positive cases, and Hoshiarpur’s death toll to four.