After witnessing four-time rise in number of confirmed cases within a week by registering more than 100 cases every day, Punjab on Wednesday registered a dip in new cases. Punjab, which witnessed highest spike on May 3 with 331 fresh cases, on Wednesday recorded 75 new cases, besides two deaths.
With this the total positive cases in Punjab has reached 1,526, of which 1364 are active, while the state’s death toll has reached 27. The state’s tally stood at 375 on April 29, after which Punjab did not register cases less than 100 any day.
Of the 75 positive cases, 28 cases were reported from Moga, 16 from Tarn Taran, 13 from Amritsar, three from Fatehgarh Sahib, two each from Patiala, Mansa, and Sangrur, one each from Barnala, Muktsar, Gurdaspur, SBS Nagar, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, and Jalandhar.
Majority of cases tested positive were of the people returning to Punjab from other states —including pilgrims from Gurdwara Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra, migrants anmd students from Rajasthan, among others. Out of 75, 36 were pilgrims, six were migrants, and 19 were contacts of previously diagnosed cases.
The state’s four districts — Amritsar with 230, Jalandhar with 135, Ludhiana with 124, and Tarn Taran with 103 — has crossed 100-mark of positive cases.
In Jalandhar, a 59-year-old man who was employed at Guru Nanak Mission Hospital has been tested positive.
Amritsar reported 13 new cases, 12 of who were pilgrims, Tarn Taran reported 16 new cases, seven of whom were contacts of already diagnosed cases, Ferozepur and Fazilka reported one new case each, both Nanded pilgrims.
Mohali case tally now stands at 96, although this has yet to be added to the official tally. Confirming, Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said: “District today saw a positive case coming to light. The person is aged 57 years and is a resident of Zirakpur and has been admitted at the Gian Sagar Hospital.”
As of now, the total positive cases in the district are 96 , while the number of recovered cases is 43 and that of active cases is 51, said Dayalan adding that the new case was repoted from the district after about 48 hours.
Mohali Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said that the man had undergone operation at a private hospital in Sector 26 Panchkula recently. “During the treatment, the hospital authorities had sent the samples of the man for testing the reports of which were positive, and the management of the private hospital has informed us in this regard,” he added.
TWO DEATHS REPORTED
Punjab reported two deaths — one each from Jalandhar and Patiala, taking state’s tally to 27.
A 29-year-old man from Jalandhar’s Qazi Mohalla died at Chandigarh's Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, where he was admitted. A death summary from the hospital showed he had pre-existing health problems — chronic kidney disease and hypertension.
The development takes Jalandhar's death toll to five.
From Patiala, a 39-year-old man died of coronavirus taking the district's death toll to two. The patient was taken to Government Mata Kaushalya hospital in the morning, where he was declared brought dead.
Health authorities said that his samples were taken on Tuesday and lab reports on Wednesday confirmed he had coronavirus. Patiala Health authorities said that rapid response teams had reached his residence to isolate his family members and other high-risk contacts.
22 SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM PATIALA JAIL
A day after noted gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, lodged in Patiala Central jail, was tested positive for coronavirus, Patiala district health department on Wednesday collected 22 samples from the Jail.
The health team collected the samples of inmates and jail officials who had come in contact with Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. He was taken to Batala on production warrant where he tested positive.