26 Ludhiana jail inmates among 175 new cases in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana/Chandigarh, July 5

In an alarming development, at least 26 inmates of the Ludhiana Central Jail tested positive for Covid-19 today. Earlier, five had tested positive.

Civil Surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said all prisoners were asymptomatic. “They were first tested at the Borstal Jail on June 9 and the reports of all of them came negative. Now when they were shifted to the Central Jail, the test was repeated and reports came positive. A total of 32 inmates were tested for Covid. The report of 26 came positive,” he said.

Previously, five of 14 inmates of the Central Jail had tested positive on July 3 after they were shifted from the Borstal Jail.

The high number of positive cases in the jail has raised concerns among the health authorities over the formation of new clusters.

“The Borstal Jail is a special Covid quarantine centre, where those arrested by the police in various cases are sent for screening. They are placed under quarantine for 14 days and after that they are sent to their respective districts, if tested negative,” said Kulwant Singh, Superintendent, Borstal Jail.

“The inmates tested positive in a retest and all of them have been kept in separate barracks at the Central Jail. Proper distancing is being maintained so that others do not contract the virus,” said Rajiv Arora, Superintendent, Central Jail. Special Covid jails have been set up in Ludhiana, Barnala, Bathinda and Patti.

Meanwhile, with 175 fresh cases reported in last 24 hours, the state count of Covid-19 cases has reached 6,283.

One death each was reported from Patiala and Tarn Taran. The number of casualties has reached 164.

As per the state media bulletin, 70 cases were reported from Ludhiana, 26 from Patiala, 16 from SAS Nagar, 11 from Ferozepur, 10 from Amritsar, eight from Faridkot, seven from Jalandhar, six from Sangrur, five from Gurdaspur and four each from Pathankot, Moga and Bathinda, one each from Tarn Taran, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka and Mansa.

A 66-year-old woman, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in Muktsar, died at a private hospital in Ludhiana. The victim, Paramjit Kaur, had gone to Ludhiana for a check-up regarding cardiac problem a few days ago, but tested positive for Covid. Notably, this is the first death due to Covid-19 from Muktsar district.

Spike in Jalandhar

Jalandhar: Though the media bulletin reported just seven cases in the district on Sunday, the local authorities reported 71. The new cases included 10 minors

The places where cases were reported include Ali Mohalla, Gadaipur, Kandola Kalan, Nanak Pind (Jamsher), Mohalla Charkhiri (Kartarpur), Lidhran and Lohian Khas. tns