At 65%, Punjab’s recovery rate double the national avg

526 MORE DISCHARGED No. of cured Covid-19 patients reaches 1,257, of which 1,034 were sent home in past 2 days

RECOVERY RATE IN THE

COUNTRY STANDS AT 35%, WITH 30,153 OF 85,940 COVID PATIENTS CURED SO FAR

CHANDIGARH: In a huge breather for Punjab, 526 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals in the state on Saturday, taking the tally of cured patients to 1,257 out of 1,946 confirmed cases, according to government figures released in the evening. The state now has 657 active cases.

The development has placed Punjab in the category of states with best recovery rates, with around 65% of the total positive cases declared cured.

Punjab’s recovery rate is now almost double the national rate of 35% — 30,153 cured of 85,940, according to data updated on the Union ministry of health and family welfare website on Saturday.

Saturday was the second back-to-back big day, when the state witnessed more than 500 patients getting recovered from the virus. As many as 508 were declared cured on Friday. With this, the state has suddenly taken a giant leap in recovery rate from 10% on May 13 (200 out of total 1,924) to 65% on May 16.

As more than 200 patients are likely to be discharged on Sunday too, Punjab is set to further strengthen its position as far as the cure rate is concerned.

The news has come as a shot in the arm for the state government, which was feeling the heat from various quarters over its mismanagement in bringing back Sikh pilgrims stuck at Nanded in Maharashtra. As 1,257 pilgrims out of around 4,200 were tested positive, the sudden spike had put the state government on the back foot, with Punjab becoming one of the worst-hit 10 states.

MOST OF NANDED PILGRIMS RECOVER

Out of the total 1,257 pilgrims, around 1,200 have been cured as on Saturday, said Covid-19 nodal officer of the state Dr Rajesh Bhaskar.

“Most of them have already been discharged from government hospitals and their discharge will continue on Sunday as well,” he said.

Acording to the health department, the discharge of a large number of positive cases has been done as per the new policy of the Union health ministry, which advises the states to discharge asymptomatic patients under treatment in government facilities for 14 days. “Barring mere 35, all pilgrims have remained asymptomatic ever since they were tested positive for the virus after their arrival in Punjab between April 25- 30,” a senior health department functionary said.

FEROZEPUR, BARNALA HAS NO ACTIVE CASE

The district-wise tally of the state now reveals that out of 22 districts , Ferozepur and Barnala have become corona-free, whereas six districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Hoshiarpur, Moga and Kapurthala have less than 10 active cases.

Amritsar, the district with largest number of positive cases, has only two active cases out of 301 positive cases as 145 were discharged on Saturday while four have succumbed earlier.

While the last three Covid-19 patients were discharged in Ferozepur district on Saturday, where of 44 cases, 42 were of Nanded returnees, in Barnala, 17 pilgrims, including a sevenyear-old girl, were among 19 recovered patients.

Meanwhile, seven patients were discharged in Bathinda district while three recovered in Mansa on Saturday. Now, Bathinda has 15 active cases and Mansa has 20.

In Rupnagar district, 29 people were discharged, bringing the number of active cases down to 28. Also, 34 patients were discharged in Sangrur and 39 in Faridkot.

In Jalandhar, recovery rate jumped to 65% with 22 more patients being discharged. The district has reported 211 positive cases so far, of whom 139 have won the battle over coronavirus disease.

As many as 75 patients recovered of the novel coronavirus in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on Saturday, bringing down the number of active cases to nine. Senior medical officer Dr Harwinder Singh said an undertaking has been taken from all to remain in home isolation for seven days.