Record daily surge in P’kula with 172 cases

PANCHKULA: With the detection of 172 new cases, Panchkula on Wednesday recorded the highest single-day spike in cases. The district’s Covid-19 tally now stands at 1,829.

Ten health workers from Government Hospital, Kalka, and four molecular lab employees at Civil Hospital, Panchkula, were among those who tested positive. Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur said, “We will process the last batch of Covid-19 samples and then shut the lab for a day, as five our staff have tested positive in the last two days.”

Congress leader Ranjeeta Mehta has also tested positive for the virus. Sharing the news on social media, Mehta said both she and her husband had tested positive. The couple is in home quarantine and has requested those who came in contact with them to isolate themselves.

As per the daily health bulletin, of the 172 cases, eight were traced on Tuesday and 164 on Wednesday. The highest number of fresh cases were reported in Kalka (71), followed by Nanakpur (21), Pinjore (15) and Surajpur (14).

Dr Kaur said: “Over the last three days around 58 Vidhan Sabha members have tested positive for Covid-19. Since most cases on Wednesday were reported colonies such as Khera Sita Ram, Marhawallan, we will shift our focus to these areas.”

There are 658 active cases in Panchkula. As many as 1,158 people have recovered and 13 have succumbed to the disease. Around 30,000 samples have been collected so far, of which 748 reports are pending.