First hot spot district in Punjab now Covid-free as two return home

JALANDHAR: The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in Punjab, the state’s first Covid-19 hotspot, was declared coronavirus disease free on Monday after the two last patients were discharged from the hospital following recovery.

Officials cited strict containment measures and surveillance of those entering the district as reasons for the feat.

The development has come on a day when the restrictions were lifted from the last containment zone in the district. “The curbs imposed on Gunachaur village were removed as per the revised guidelines of the Union health ministry for containment zones,” deputy commissioner Vinay Bublani said.

As many as 18 cases were reported from the district in March. Additionally, 14 members of the family of a preacher, who had returned from Germany via Italy, were also infected. However, after the district did not report any new cases for a month between March 26 and April 24, it was declared Covid-19 free. Later, a man who returned from Jammu tested positive, followed by at least 75 people, who returned from Maharashtra’s Nanded.

Civil Surgeon Dr Rajinder Bhatia said, “Strict enforcement of norms in containment zones was the key in curbing the spread. We conducted maximum sampling of suspected cases or contacts of those infected. Over 2,100 people have been tested till date. As many as 24 villages, including 15 of Banga sub-division alone, were sealed,” Bublani said.