30,000 NRIS placed under isolation, says Amarinder

CHANDIGARH:A day after imposing curfew in the state to stem the spread of coronavirus, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said of over 94,000 non-resident Indians (NRIS) and foreign returned persons had entered the state in recent days, most were tracked and 30,000 had been placed under isolation.

The CM said all-out efforts were being made to trace the remaining. “Constant monitoring is in progress to keep a check on any new entrants,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, stressing the need to trace and test all those who had returned from coronaaffected countries.

Amarinder said a close watch was being kept on the 48,000 persons under home quarantine to prevent them from moving out under any circumstances. In case of violation of home quarantine, the sarpanches have been told to report the matter to area magistrates, DSPS or SHOS, or call the police on 112,” he added. He said strict action was being taken with prosecution under Section 188 IPC against those found violating the curfew.

₹150 CR AID SOUGHT FROM CENTRE

Referring to the large number of NRIS who have arrived in the state, the state government has sought an assistance of ₹150 crore from the Centre to combat the coronavirus outbreak. “Punjab has maximum number of NRIS in the country and 90,000 of them have landed in the state this month only. Many of them have symptoms of Covid-19 and are further spreading the disease through their contact/transmission,” health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu wrote in a letter to Union health and family welfare minister Harsh Vardhan.

Sidhu said that to contain this disease, the state had made stringent plans up to the grassroots level. “We are setting up ICUS, isolation wards etc and require extra manpower, specialists, intensivists, anesthetists, pulmonologists, doctors and nurses,” the minister wrote.

“To meet these urgent demands , the state requires additional funds of minimum ₹150 crore from the Centre . This is of utmost importance and as promised by the GOI, this amount be released at the earliest,” reads the letter.