8 new cases surface in Punjab, tally now 65
AMRITSAR/MOHALI/PATHANKOT/FARIDKOT
:Eight persons were tested positive for novel coronavirus in Punjab on Saturday, taking the total count of those infected by the disease in the state to 65.
In Amritsar, three family members of Bhai Nirmal Singh’s 58-year-old associate were tested positive for Covid-19, with the number of people infected by the former hazoori ragi of the Golden Temple reaching seven.
On Friday, two close contacts of Nirmal Singh, who died on Thursday after he was found infected, were tested positive in a report of the viral research and diagnostic laboratory of the Government Medical College, Amritsar. They are Nirmal Singh’s US-returned aunt, a ragi who accompanied him to Chandigarh for a religious congregation.
“The wife, son and 9-year old grandson of Nirmal Singh’s associate have been tested positive. They are being treated and are stable,” Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Prabhdeep Kaur Johal said.
“At present, 10 coronavirus positive patients, including one patient from Pathankot and one from Faridkot, are admitted to the GNDH’s isolation ward. All are stable and are recovering,” she added.
INFECTED MAN’S WIFE +VE IN PRELIM SCAN
“A family member of a 67-yearold man of Krishna Nagar, Amritsar, who was tested positive for coronavirus on Friday and was the first case of community spread in Amritsar, has also been admitted to the isolation ward of the hospital. His wife, two sons, a daughter-in-law and an 8-monthold granddaughter were quarantined at GNDH, with his wife testing positive in preliminary test. Her confirmatory test report will come on Sunday,” said Dr Johal.
MOHALI: +VE WOMAN’S 2 KIN, PANCH INFECTED
In Mohali, two women residents of Sector 91 who are close contacts of a coronavirus-infected Ludhiana woman, tested positive for the disease on Saturday.
A 42-year-old panch of Jawaharpur village in Dera Bassi also tested positive for Covid-19, taking the count to 15 in the district.
The Sector 91 women residents, aged 55 and 80, are relatives of the 69-year-old woman from Ludhiana’s Shimlapuri area, who tested positive on April 2, and was staying with them. The Ludhiana woman was rushed to Fortis Hospital in Mohali on March 23 after she experienced a sudden drop in her sugar levels, diarrhoea and difficulty breathing, but was later shifted to Ludhiana, where her report on April 2 confirmed she was Covid-19 positive.
FARIDKOT MONEY EXCHANGER INFECTED
In Faridkot, a 35-year-old money exchanger, who visited New Delhi before the lockdown was imposed, tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, becoming the first person in the district to be infected by the disease.
Police sealed Harindra Nagar locality in the town where the patient lives. Deputy commissioner Kumar Saurabh Raj said, “The locality was cordoned off as a preventive measure so that no outsider can enter the area,” he added. Faridkot civil surgeon Dr Rajinder Kumar said the patient was admitted to the isolation ward of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, on April 2 after he had of Covid-19-like symptoms. “He tested in a report received from Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar,” he said.