CHANDIGARH: Two more people died of coronavirus in Punjab while 77 fresh cases were reported, pushing the tally to 3,063 in the state, officials said on Saturday.
Both the deaths were reported in Amritsar, which is the worst affected district by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With these fatalities, the death toll in the state rose to 65, as per the medical bulletin.
Eleven fresh cases were reported in Mohali, nine in Amritsar, six in Pathankot, five each in SBS Nagar and Jalandhar, four in Tarn Taran, three in Sangrur, two in Barnala and one each in Rupnagar, Ferozepur, Bathinda and Fatehgarh Sahib.
Of them, two had travel history to Delhi and Maharashtra. Three police officials in Pathankot, Tarn Taran and Sangrur and an Army personnel in Bathinda were among the 77 people who contracted the infection, the medical bulletin said.
Forty-five COVID-19 patients were discharged from various hospitals after being cured, as per the bulletin.
A total of 2,327 people have been cured in the state. There are 671 active cases in the state as of now.
Amritsar continued to lead the COVID-19 tally in the state with 601 coronavirus cases, followed by 323 in Jalandhar, 333 in Ludhiana, 166 in Gurdaspur, 164 in Tarn Taran, 149 in Patiala, 154 in Mohali, 137 in Hoshiarpur, 138 each in Sangrur and Pathankot, 119 in SBS Nagar, 86 in Faridkot, 78 in Rupnagar, 74 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 72 in Muktsar, 69 in Moga, 57 in Bathinda, 50 in Fazilka, 48 in Ferozepur, 42 in Kapurthala, 34 in Mansa and 31 in Barnala, it said.
One patient is critical and is on ventilator support while 14 are on oxygen support, as per the bulletin.
A total of 1,76,533 samples have been taken for testing so far, it said.
A total of 21 people died of COVID-19 in Punjab since June 1 with Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar being the worst affected districts in the state, reveal official data.
Eleven of the 21 fatalities occurred in Amritsar while the rest were reported from Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Patiala, Tarn Taran and Sangrur, the data said.
State's health officials said those who died were also suffering from other diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
As two more people succumbed to the coronavirus infection on Sunday, the death toll in Punjab rose to 65, as per the data.
Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana accounted for about 40 per cent of the total 3,063 COVID-19 cases in the state till Saturday evening.
Amritsar district is leading the COVID-19 tally with 601 infected cases.
The number of cases in Amritsar rose by 215 since June 1, according to the data.
Jalandhar, which has second highest number of cases in Punjab, witnessed the virus count jumping from 246 on June 1 to 323 on June 13.
The number of cases in Ludhiana grew from 197 at the start of the month to 333 till date, the data showed.
Pathankot saw coronavirus cases more than doubling from 60 to 138 in the same period.
The number of active coronavirus cases also saw a surge since June 1 in the state.
The active cases rose from 257, as on June 1, to 671 on June 13, the data revealed.
As many as 327 coronavirus patients have been discharged since June 1 from various hospitals in Punjab after their recovery.
As of now, a total of 2,327 patients have been cured of the infection.
The Punjab government had announced the imposition of stricter lockdown on weekends and public holidays in the state amid apprehensions of community spread of COVID-19 with projections indicating that the pandemic peak in the state was still two months away.
The Amarinder Singh government on Saturday also said it will take a decision on conducting examinations in universities and colleges after June 30, in line with fresh guidelines expected from the Centre.
The CM said this during a Facebook live session that a decision in this regard will be taken by the Centre as all universities and colleges in Punjab are either directly or indirectly affiliated to the University Grants Commission (UGC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The UGC is expected to issue fresh guidelines for conducting exams on July 1 as lockdown 5.0 ends on June 30, the chief minister said.
On certain states conducting exams in colleges and universities, he said it was in violation of the norms laid down by the central government, which alone could take a decision on the issue with respect to the entire country.
The Centre is also expected to announce its decision on opening of colleges on July 1, an official release quoting Singh said.
The chief minister announced a month-long 'Mission Fateh Warriors' campaign to reward citizens following all health advisories and norms diligently.
People observing all precautions and motivating others to follow safety protocols would be honoured by the state government as part of this campaign, he said.
Citing a report of the Cambridge University, the chief minister said that tried and tested measures like wearing face masks could control the spread up of COVID-19 to 75- 80 per cent, making it imperative for all citizens to inculcate the safety norms in their daily routine.
On traffic violation during the lockdown, he pointed out that 41,000 out of the 81,000 strong Punjab Police force was engaged in COVID-19 related duty and nobody would be allowed to violate any rules on the road.
Violators will be fined and would have to face penal action under the law, he warned.
The chief minister made it clear that filming movies in the state was permitted and instructions to this effect had been issued to district commissioners.
A total of 97 people who came from Delhi to Punjab in the past one month have tested positive for coronavirus, state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said on Saturday.
Hitting out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, Sidhu alleged that these symptomatic people came to Punjab for coronavirus testing after they "failed" to get themselves tested in the government hospitals in the national capital.
"Failing to get any treatment in Delhi, symptomatic persons are coming to Punjab to get themselves tested," Sidhu said in a statement here.
A total of 97 people who came from Delhi in the past one month tested positive and now they are being treated here, he said.
However, it is yet to be ascertained how many of them were permanent residents of Delhi.
Three residents of Delhi have been admitted at Rajindra Hospital in Patiala after they tested positive, while one positive patient from the national capital came to Mohali, the Punjab government officials said on Saturday.
After approaching their relatives or friends in Patiala, the three patients reached the hospital for coronavirus testing and treatment, the officials said.
A COVID-19 patient from Delhi came to Mohali on Friday night for treatment, officials said.
"We have isolated him and will treat him," said Mohali Civil Surgeon Manjit Singh.
Sidhu alleged that people in the national capital were being denied testing and medical services.
He took a swipe at the Kejriwal-led Delhi government, saying the situation exposed the "tall claims" of the Delhi chief minister who used to say they had successful health services there.
The state health minister said the state government will provide treatment to every patient.
"Today, the Delhi government has given up. They used to say their Mohalla clinics and hospitals were very successful," he alleged.
Sidhu said to avoid any unprecedented situation, he had already directed the civil surgeons to keep a close watch on the state borders so as to ensure screening of every person coming from Delhi.
He said it is matter of concern that a large number of symptomatic people are moving from Delhi to Punjab for getting all free of cost treatment facilities.
"It has come into light that due to the massive level of outbreak occurring in the national capital, people are battling for COVID-19 test as well as for getting beds in the government hospitals," Sidhu alleged.
It is shocking to even imagine the critical situation of Delhi where common people are crying for help and moving from one hospital to another hospital to just give samples, he said.
The minister said that hundreds of videos of such incidents are viral on social media which clearly exposed the "bad" arrangements of the Delhi government to deal with COVID-19.
He further said the health department has commenced house-to-house screening to collect data of every person having symptoms of the deadly virus.