COVID-19 CASES CONFINED TO SEVEN PUNJAB DISTRICTS, NRI BELT IS WORST-AFFECTED

Samples of 300 people in quarantine in remaining 15 districts found -ve

CHANDIGARH: The positive cases of coronavirus in Punjab are restricted to seven of the 22 districts so far, with nearly 65% infected patients belonging to the Doaba region, known as the state’s NRIs belt.

Of a total of 47 cases, 31 have been reported from SBS Nagar (19), Hoshiarpur (7) and Jalandhar (5) districts — all falling in Doaba. No case has been reported in the region’s fourth district, Kapurthala, as yet.

The state’s other districts with positive cases are Mohali (10), Ludhiana (3), Amritsar (2) and Patiala (1).

At five deaths, Punjab is fourth among states in terms of Covid-19 casualties in India followed by Maharashtra (13), Gujarat (7) and Madhya Pradesh (6), according to the Union health ministry.

As per the data compiled under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) of the state health and family welfare department, testing was done in the rest of the 15 districts on 300 people put under quarantine but all samples turned out to be negative.

Of the 1,434 samples tested in the state till date, 1,236 have been found negative while reports of 151 are awaited.

State health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu claimed things were quite under control in Punjab. “If we keep aside SBS Nagar which has 28 positive patients who came in direct or indirect contact with 70-year-old Baldev Singh, a raagi (Gurbani singer), and two of his associates who returned from Germany via Italy in a connected flight, Punjab’s tally will look satisfactory,” he said.