Adhere to safety protocols strictly, says Amarinder

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday appealed to the people to adhere to the safety protocols and restrictions to save themselves, their families and the state.

He said the state had adequate essential equipment to manage further spread of the pandemic, which it had been largely able to control so far and the focus was on saving lives.

Responding to questions during the latest FB Live edition of #AskCaptain, the CM said the

Covid situation in Punjab had so far been manageable due to the strict lockdown and people’s cooperation.

On Friday alone, 4,600 challans had been imposed for failure to wear mask in public, 160 for spitting and around two-dozen for not adhering to social distancing norms. Such irresponsible behaviour could not be permitted as it could push Punjab on the same path as many other states, he added.

The CM said with 2,608 total positive cases, of which 2,106 had recovered, Punjab’s situation had been under control so far. Fiftyone

people had died of the infection. A total of 1,24,266 samples had been tested, and only 451 persons had to be put in isolation, with just three persons having to be placed on oxygen and another three on ventilator since the outbreak of the pandemic in the state, said Amarinder.

Despite this, the state government was not taking any chances, said Amarinder. In the first stage, 4,248 beds in government hospitals had been set aside, with another 2,014 now being added, while the private hospitals had allocated 950 beds for Covid-19 patients, he said.