784 +ve, 26 fall prey in Ludhiana

Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, May 20

As many as 784 persons tested positive for Covid while 26 succumbed to the virus on Thursday.

Total confirmed cases from Ludhiana today reached 79,152 while 1,814 have lost their lives so far in the district since the beginning of the pandemic. On Friday, the case fatality rate of the district was at 2.29 per cent.

Those who tested positive today include four expecting mothers and a healthcare worker while 153 are still untraceable. Those who lost their lives today include 18 men and eight women, of which nine patients belonged to rural areas while the remaining were from urban areas.

Today, 60 patients were on ventilator support. Of these, 32 were from Ludhiana.

Today, 14,743 samples were collected in the district and 10,161 persons were vaccinated, of which 1,353 were from the age group of 18-44 years.

Meanwhile, the state government through the Health and Family Welfare Department has launched Mission Fateh 2.0 (corona-free village campaign) as the second wave of Covid is affecting rural areas more.

Ludhiana Civil Surgeon Dr Kiran Gill said number of Covid-19 patients in rural areas was steadily increasing.

Door-to-door survey begins in villages

A door-to-door survey with the help of ASHA has been initiated in villages to check for Covid symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pulse oximeters will be provided to all ASHA workers for conducting the survey. The ASHA workers will check oxygen saturation (sp02%) and pulse rate of suspected Covid patients through the pulse oximeter. If oxygen saturation level of any person is found to be less than 94 per cent or pulse rate is over 100 per minute, information of the person will be immediately shared by ASHA with the Community Health Officer concerned so that he or she can be tested for Covid.

Dr Mangla succumbs

Dr GP Mangla, who retired from the post of in-charge, Red Cross blood bank, Ludhiana, on Thursday succumbed to the virus. A few days ago, his wife had breathed her last due to brain tumour. Members of the IMA expressed grief over the loss of Dr Mangla and said he had devoted a major part of his life for the development of Red Cross blood Bank.

IMA president Dr Saroj Aggarwal said the void created by the death of Dr Mangla could not be filled.

City-based psychiatrist Rajeev Gupta said Dr Mangla was his dear friend and his demise was a personal loss to him.