Another record spike in state, 4,957 cases witnessed in a day

CHANDIGARH: Sixty-eight more people died from coronavirus in Punjab on Sunday as the health authorities reported another record daily spike of 4,957 cases, pushing the state’s infection tally to 3,00,038.

On Saturday, the state had witnessed its highest daily increase of 4,498 cases. With 68 more fatalities in the past 24 hours, the death toll climbed to 7,902 in the state, according to a medical bulletin.

Eleven deaths were reported in Amritsar, nine in Gurdaspur, seven in Patiala and six in Rupnagar. Mohali reported 880 cases, the maximum in the state, followed by 742 in Amritsar, 686 in Ludhiana, 445 in Jalandhar and 379 in Patiala. The number of active cases stands at 34,190. A total of 3,141 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured people to 2,57,946, the bulletin said.

There are 48 critical patients who are on ventilator while 429 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said. A total of 66,07,723 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state, it said.

Meanwhile, the Ludhiana district administration on Sunday declared Dugri’s Urban Estate, Phase 1 and 2, as containment zones in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases. Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said the two areas will be sealed with effect from 9 pm on Sunday till further orders.

Over 6,000 people were vaccinated a at mandis in Punjab during the procurement of crops, according to an official statement. In addition to putting in place adequate Covid-19 protocols at the 154 mandis, the state government has started camps to inoculate all stakeholders and has so far vaccinated more than 6,000 eligible persons.

Nonagenarian couple honoured for getting jab Surjit Kaur, 96, and Krishan Singh, 92, of Barnala, got their first shot of covid vaccine during a camp in the town on Sunday. A team of officials honoured the couple. “Vaccination is mandatory for prevention. People should follow instructions,” said Kaur, after getting the shot. Krishan said both were fine.