Punjab reports 86 new coronavirus cases, state tally now 2,805

Tribune News Service 
Chandigarh/Sangrur, June 10

Punjab reported 86 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the state’s COVID bulletin showed—a worrying sign that the infection could be spiking again even as the state continues to ease lockdown restrictions in line with other states in the country.

Punjab’s COVID-19 infection tally now stands at 2,805.

The state also reported one more fatality, although this has yet to be recorded in the official tally. An 86-year-old man who recently tested positive for COVID-19 died in Jalandhar.

 At least 16 of the state’s 86 cases were people who had a recent travel record—either people who recently returned from abroad or people who came back from other states lockdown restrictions eased.

Pathankot (19), Amritsar (13), Gurdaspur (13), Ludhiana (11), Faridkot (11), Sangrur (4), SAS Nagar (3), Patiala (3), Jalandhar (1), Fatehgarh Sahib (1), SBS Nagar (1), Kapurthala (1) and Barnala (1) made up Wednesday’s new COVID-19 cases.

At 19 new COVID-19 cases, Pathankot reported the most in the state on Wednesday. Amritsar, Ludhiana, Faridkot and Gurdaspur all had double digit figures.

Out of Pathankot’s 19, three were domestic travellers who just returned from Andhra Pradesh, Pune and Delhi. Three were contacts of already diagnosed cases, 11 were self-reported cases, one was classified as ANC and the last was a police official.

Five of Amritsar’s 13 were categorised as ILI (influenza-like illness), four contacts of already diagnosed cases, one was self-reported, one was categorised as SARI (severe acute respiratory illness) and two others were categorised as new cases.

Garden Enclave, Varindavan garden, Shashtri Nagar, Katra Khazana, Purani Mandi Hall Gate and Rambagh each reported one ILI case. Of the five contacts who tested positive, two were from Garden Colony and one was from Sharma Colony.

All of Faridkot’s and Ludhiana’s cases were contacts of already diagnosed patients. In Faridkot’s Kotkapura town, 13 members of a joint family tested positive.

Of Ludhiana’s 11 cases. a 51-year-old woman and 60 year-old-man from Chhavani Mohalla, and two children ages, 10 and 13 from Chhaowni Mohalla were among those testing positive.  Both are containment zones.

Twenty-two people, including the source of infection, have tested positive for COVID-19 from the two containment zones.

In Gurdaspur, one had recently returned from abroad. The remaining were contacts of already diagnosed cases.

The bulletin said SAS Nagar reported three cases—two with recent travel history.One had a record of having travelled recently to Kashmir and the other came back from Delhi. The third case was categorised as ILI.

Two of Sangrur’s four cases had travel history—one had recently returned from abroad and the other was a domestic traveller who recently came back from Kolkata.

Two others were catergorised as new cases—one of who was a shopkeeper, the bulletin showed.

Sangrur reported 11 more COVID-19 cases later in the evening, but these have yet to be added to the state tally.

All three of Patiala’s cases were domestic travellers.

Two of Fatehgarh Sahib’s three cases had travel history—one recently came back from Uttar Pradesh and the other from Mumbai. The third case was a jail inmate, the bulletin showed.

Jalandhar’s lone patient on Wednesday was categorised as new case.

SBS Nagar, Barnala and Kapurthala all had people with a recent travel record testing positive for COVID-19.

Besides this, the bulletin also said 16 people from outside Punjab reported positive, but these have not been included in the state bulletin.

The district-wise breakup for COVID-19 in Punjab stands as follows: Amritsar (515), Jalandhar (312), Ludhiana (277), Tarn Taran (159), Gurdaspur (165), Hoshiarpur (135), Patiala (140), SAS Nagar (126), Sangrur (120), Pathankot (113), SBS Nagar (110), Ropar (71), Muktsar (70), Faridkot (84), Fatehgarh Sahib (71), Moga (67), Bathinda (55), Fazilka (48), Ferozepur (46),  Kapurthala (41), Mansa (34), and Barnala (27).    

The state has reported 55 deaths so far.

The state’s death toll stands thus: Amritsar (11), Ludhiana (10), Jalandhar (8), Hoshiarpur (5), Pathankot (4), Gurdaspur (3), SAS Nagar (3), Kapurthala (3), Patiala (3), Tarn Taran (1), SBS Nagar (1), Ferozepur (1), Ropar (1), and Barnala (1).

Punjab has steadily witnessed an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of this month—a development that comes at a time when the state looks at easing some lockdown restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Punjab currently has 518 active cases—more than twice the number reported at the end of May.

Three districts—Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana—together account for more than 39 per cent of the state’s cases and 52 per cent of its fatalities.

Four people are currently on ventilator support in the state and seven on oxygen support—five of those from Amritsar.