One death, 64 more cases take Punjab tally to 1,768

SBS NAGAR/AMRITSAR/GURDASPUR/ KAPURTHALA:A 74-year-old Mohali man found infected with the coronavirus died while 64 more persons, including 47 who returned from Takht Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra’s Nanded recently, tested positive on Friday, taking the state’s tally of cases to 1,768.

Eighteen fresh cases, with 10 of them having Nanded link, were detected in SBS Nagar. The district now has a total of 103 positive cases. The pilgrims, including three women, are aged between 29 and 54. The rest are migrants in the age group of 19 and 40.

In Jalandhar, 7 persons, including three Ganna Chak village women residents who returned from Nanded, tested positive on Friday, with the district so far witnessing 155 cases, including 5 deaths.

One of those infected is a 4-year-old boy of Basti Guzzan in Jalandhar city, who is a close contact of 48-year-old Sehdev, who died due to Covid-19.

12 CASES IN AMRITSAR, FOUR IN TARN TARAN

Twelve more people, who returned from Nanded, were tested positive in Amritsar on Friday. “One of the patients is admitted in Patiala. The number of total patients in Amritsar is 286 of which 267 are Nanded-returnees,” civil surgeon Dr Jugal Kishore said.

Also, four more Nanded-returnees were tested positive in Tarn Taran, taking the district’s total to 161.

In Gurdaspur, 8 cases with Nanded link were detected. The district now has 117 cases, including 107 Hazur Sahib-returnees, so far.

In Kapurthala district’s Phagwara sub-division, five pilgrims, including a teenager and a 66-year-old woman, tested positive for Covid-19. Others are three men aged 50, 66 and 67. All of them were in quarantine.

Two fresh cases were reported in Sangrur. The district’s count now is 97. The patients are a 56-year-old woman, who returned from Nanded while the other, a 25-year-old, was a contact of a Covid-19 victim.

Two persons, including a Rajasthan-returned labourer and a 70-year-old woman from Udham Singh Nagar, tested positive in Bathinda district while an 18-year-old youth was found infected in Mansa district.

Civil surgeon Dr Amrik Singh said samples of 18 of her contacts were collected. The 18-year-old Mansa boy came back to his native village Burj Rathi from Gurugram in Haryana.

PATIALA CROSSES 100-MARK

Patiala district on Friday crossed the mark of 100-positive cases with two fresh cases of coronavirus. A 50-year-old Hazur Sahib-returnee, who earlier tested negative, has now contracted infection after he showed symptoms of virus at a quarantine centre. Also, a 22-year-old woman, a contact of an earlier infected woman from Rajpura’s Gulab nagar area, tested positive.

Of a total of 101 cases in the district, 47 have been reported from Rajpura town.

Also, the reports of two Hazur Sahib-returnees were found positive in Pathankot. A 24-year-old woman of Mohali’s Kharar block who gave birth at Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh, on Thursday, tested positive. Besides, a 28yearold man from Machhiwara locality of Ludhiana was tested positive.

(Inputs from Mohali, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur)