No Omicron case reported from Punjab: Om Parkash Soni

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 4

Putting an end to social media rumours, Deputy Chief Minister Om Parkash Soni on Saturday said no case of Omicron, the new variant of deadly coronavirus has been reported from Punjab so far.

Soni, who also holds the portfolio of health, said the government was vigilant and all necessary steps were being taken in view of the safety of general public. He said 36 per cent of the population of the state has received the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Replying to a media query regarding protest by ANMs, Soni said the protesting employees should end their stir now as their demand was being considered by the state government. The ANMs are protesting against the government demanding regularisation of their services. Soni said the matter has been discussed with the CM and all justified demands of the employees would be accepted.

He said the work on the Rs120 crore cancer institute at Government Medical College has been completed and it would become operational soon. He said the institute would be a boon for patients, who earlier had to go to PGI for treatment.

Earlier, Soni flagged off awareness vans and a cycle rally from Bhai Dharam Singh Satellite Hospital, Ranjit Avenue, to create awareness about non-communicable diseases. He said the state government has screened a total of 31 lakh residents in the state of which 14.37 per cent are diabetics, 15.38 are suffering from hypertension and 0.35 per cent have been found suffering from different kinds of cancer. He said diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are easily preventable by making certain positive changes in lifestyle.

No fresh covid case reported in district

Amritsar: The district Health Department did not report any positive case on Saturday. At present, the district has a total of eight active cases. Meanwhile, 11,886 residents were inoculated during the ongoing vaccination drive. Of these, 4,398 have received the first dose of the vaccine, while 7,488 received the second dose. TNS