After short lull, five cases crop up in UT

CHANDIGARH : After a brief lull of two days, five new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Chandigarh on Sunday, increasing the city tally to 294.

Among these are three cases from the epicentre Bapu Dham Colony, while one case each is from Khuda Ali Sher and Sector 9.

The Sector-9 resident is a 27-year old woman, who returned from Toronto, Canada, on the intervening night of May 26 and 27. She is the first to test positive among the 116 people, who returned to Chandigarh from abroad recently after international flights resumed.

The patient, a student at Canada, was under institutional quarantine at Hotel Mountview, Sector 10, and has now opted for home isolation. As many 29 other passengers have been allowed to return home after testing.

The Khuda Ali Sher resident, a 40-year-old man, had travelled to Delhi with his wife and stayed there for two days before returning to Chandigarh. His wife is a staffer with the UT health department and has tested negative.

The patient’s mother had expired in New Delhi on May 26, but was not tested for the virus infection. However, her neighbour in Delhi, who was found Covid positive, died on May 26.

In Bapu Dham Colony, three women, aged 20, 28 and 42, were found infected. All three are contacts of other positive cases.

Meanwhile, the 91-year-old woman, who tested negative after being reported positive by a private hospital in Mohali, has not been excluded from UT’s tally, as the administration has taken up the matter with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the central government in line with protocol.

Mohali and Panchkula reported no new cases on Sunday. Their count remains 114 and 26, respectively. While nine cases are active in Mohali, the number is just one in Panchkula.