10 villages in Fazilka district declared containment zones

As many as 10 villages of Fazilka district have been declared containment zones, the highest number of villages in any Punjab district, following surge in Covid-19 cases.

According to the official data, Fazilka saw a two-fold increase in new infections and Covid-related mortalities in May. In this month so far, the district saw a daily average of 404 new cases and 11 fatalities. Sources said most of these cases were from the rural pockets.

The home district of state Congress president Sunil Jakhar has no facility to treat critical patients requiring ventilator, neither in government hospitals nor private health institutes. Health authorities say a cluster of five villages adjoining the Rajasthan border reported sizeable virus cases.

Experts say attending weddings and visiting crowded places in Sriganganagar without Covid-appropriate behaviour contributed to the fast spread of infections in villages.

On May 1, Fazilka had 7,906 positive cases and the tally was 8,085 on Thursday. Similarly, 137 deaths were reported in the district this month, taking the total number of fatalities to 348.

District epidemiologist officer Dr Sunita said Bazidpur Kattanwali village was the first village to be declared a containment zone earlier this month. “Total

THE DISTRICT SAW A DAILY AVERAGE OF 404 NEW CASES AND 11 FATALITIES IN MAY

172 people have been tested positive for Covid-19 and casualties were also reported at Bazidpur Kattanwali. Several patients and deaths were reported from Ruhariawali, Dutrawali, Kular, Bhagsar, Panjkosi and other villages. After initial hesitancy, villagers have now started approaching the health department whenever they develop Covid-19 symptoms,” she said.

Three localities in Arniwala, Bhagu and Ghallu are microcontainment zones. Civil surgeon Dr Parminder Singh said two weeks ago, a task force started a testing drive in villages. “A sharp increase in positive cases is due to aggressive testing. We have been focusing to mobilise panchayats to contain the infection spread,” he added.

Sources said the civil hospital at Fazilka district headquarter has no Covid care facility and only the government hospital at Jalalabad has a 60-bed facility for patients needing oxygen support. “A community health centre at Ramsra village near Abohar town is being prepared as the level-2 facility. The health department had four ventilators which were handed over to Ludhiana as Fazilka has no trained personnel to handle ventilators,” says a district functionary.