235 new cases, 3-digit daily leap continues in Punjab

CHANDIGARH/TARN TARAN/GURDASPUR/LUDHIANA: Tarn Taran district added the maximum Covid-19 patients (47) to the Punjab’s Tuesday tally of 235, of which 199 are Hazur Sahib pilgrims. With this, the number of Covid-19 patients in state has gone up to 1,490. A 22-year-old woman, who had died at a hospital in Amritsar on Sunday, was found positive for the virus, taking the death toll linked to Covid-19 in the state to 26.

Of the 47 patients in Tarn Taran, 46, including 13 women and a 3-year-old child, have Nanded link. The district now has 87 cases, including 86 Nanded pilgrims.

Gurdaspur too saw a sharp spurt with 42 fresh cases recorded on Tuesday of which 39 are Nanded pilgrims. Among the Tuesday patients is one-andhalf-year-old boy and gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.

Thirty-four people tested positive for novel coronavirus in Fazilka district on Tuesday, of them 33 are Hazur Sahib pilgrims. In Faridkot, of the 26 infected persons detected on Tuesday, 22 had returned from Nanded. Nine cases were reported in Moga district and six have Hazur Sahib link.

Sangrur’s Tuesday tally was 22, including 21 Hazur Sahib-returnees. A migrant labourer was also found positive for the virus.

Three policemen were among 15 Covid-19 infections detected in Muktsar on Tuesday and one of the patients jumped home quarantine. Police have started a search for the patient.

Fourteen cases were detected in Ludhiana on Tuesday and nine of them are Nanded pilgrims. Among the patients tested positive on Tuesday is a youth who is facing abetment to suicide charge after a girl took her own life on April 9. The health department quarantined 21 people, including eight fellow inmates who had shared barrack with the youth.

Sixteen people, including 13 Nanded pilgrims tested positive in Amritsar on Tuesday, civil surgeon DR Jugal Kishore said. Also, the swab samples of a 22-year-old woman who had died on May 3 were found positive for the virus. With this, the district’s tally has reached 230.

“The family of the woman has been informed and her contacts are being traced. Her family members will also be tested for the virus,” said Dr Kishore.

In Kapurthala, four Nanded pilgrims, including a 13-year-old girl, were found positive for coronavirus on Tuesday. Three Hazur Sahib-returnees were among five who tested positive in Jalandhar on Tuesday, while two pilgrims were found infected in Patiala. A driver from Rupnagar, who had brought pilgrims from Nanded, was also tested positive in Amritsar. (With inputs from Bathinda, Fazilka and Jalandhar)