Chief Khalsa Diwan honorary secy, 48 others die of Covid

With 2,696 new cases, tally reaches 95,529 in state; death toll 2,757

AMRITSAR/JALANDHAR/ PATIALA/BATHINDA/LUDHIANA: Punjab on Saturday reported 49 Covid-related fatalities, including the honorary secretary of Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD), taking the death toll to 2,757. The state also reported 2,696 new cases taking the tally to 95,529, according to a medical bulletin. CKD honorary secretary Surinder Singh, 66, lost battle against Covid-19 on Saturday morning in an Amritsar hospital.

A prominent trader of “rumale” (clothes used for installation of Guru Granth Sahib), he had been reciting “gurbani” daily at the Golden Temple during “amrit vela” (early morning) ceremony for last 40 years, before falling ill, said Nirmal Singh, president of the CKD.

For the last three years, Surinder was serving as an honorary secretary of the historic Sikh institution that is running over 50 educational institutes and many other religious and human welfare institutions in Punjab.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal said his untimely demise is a big loss to the Sikh community as he was humble and devout Sikh.

Ludhiana tops chart with 12 deaths

Meanwhile, Ludhiana again topped the chart with 12 deaths, followed by nine from Amritsar, seven from Jalandhar, five from Kapurthala, four each from Pathankot and Hoshiarpur, three from Patiala, two from Bathinda and one each from Mohali, Gurdaspur and Faridkot, the bulletin said.

Ferozepur saw 351 fresh Covid cases, followed by Mohali 326, Ludhiana 312, Jalandhar 227, Amritsar 227, Patiala 218, Hoshiarpur 130, Gurdaspur 124 and Bathinda 103.

A total of 1,910 patients were discharged in a day after recovering from the disease, the bulletin stated. There are 22,399 active cases in the state. So far, 70,373 people have been cured of the infection.

PIMS to start Covid testing from next week

The Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar, will start conducting testing samples for Covid from next week. At present, the Doaba region has only one testing lab at Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory which is testing 150 to 200 samples daily and the health department has been sending most of the samples to the Faridkot medical college for testing. The reports usually arrive within 48 to 72 hours and it adds to woes of authorities.