CHANDIGARH: Seventy-six more people died from coronavirus in Punjab on Sunday as the state reported another record single-day spike of 7,014 cases, taking its infection tally to 3,39,090.
The state had seen 6,762 cases on April 23.
With 76 more fatalities in the past 24-hours, the death toll in the state reached 8,432, according to a medical bulletin issued on Sunday.
Amid a record jump in infection numbers, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday urged people to exercise restraint on non-essential travel.
Fourteen people died in Patiala, nine each in Amritsar and Ludhiana and six in Hoshiarpur.
Ludhiana recorded the maximum 1,389 cases, followed by 893 in Mohali, 648 in Jalandhar, 569 in Amritsar and 495 in Patiala.
A total of 5,315 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from infection, taking the number of cured persons to 2,82,504, the bulletin said.
There are 74 critical patients who are on ventilator while 584 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said.
A total of 69,61,532 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state, it said.
The CM expressed concern over the situation across the country and appealed to people to exercise greater restraint.
"We cannot let the situation in the state go out of hand. Our daily cases are currently ranging around 5,500-6,000 with over 10 per cent positivity in the past one week," he said.
"There are already signs of stress on the health system with increased demand for oxygen. The state is also receiving persons from neighbouring states for treatment, some of whom may be relatives of our people. In such a scenario, it is important that we collectively fight the pandemic," said the CM in a statement.
Meanwhile, all malls, shops, restaurants, and markets remained shut on Sunday in the state.
The government had announced stricter curbs, including the closure of markets.
Only shops dealing in essential items such as medicines and vegetables remained open at some places.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported two deaths and 749 fresh cases, taking the infection tally to 38,692 in the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
With the death of two more persons, the fatality count reached 435 in the city, according to a medical bulletin.
The number of active cases was 5,236.
A total of 413 patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 33,021.
A total of 3,85,925 samples have been taken for testing so far, of which 3,46,154 tested negative while reports of 85 are awaited, the bulletin said.
UT Adviser Manoj Parida on Sunday asked people to avoid visiting shops that do not display a signboard, stating that their staff has been tested and vaccinated.