City woman succumbs to Covid-19, first death in district

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 30

A 42-year-old resident of the Amarpura Mohalla here, who tested positive for Covid-19, died at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, this afternoon. The test report of the woman, who worked as a worker at a hosiery factory and lived in rented accommodation with her two sons and one daughter, came in the evening.

As soon as the news of her death reached here, the police cordoned off the area and announced that nobody should step out of their houses.

A resident of Shimlapuri, Sukhwinder Singh, brother-in-law of the deceased, said the victim worked at a hosiery factory near Dana Mandi and she had not been going to work since lockdown.

“We took her to the Civil Hospital last night. Since the news of her death reached here, we have isolated ourselves and also informed the department,” he said.

Area cordoned off

Commissioner of Police Rakesh Kumar Agrawal said following the death of a Ludhiana-based woman at Patiala, the Amarpura Mohalla had been cordoned off. Teams of the Health Department are carrying out a detailed survey of all residents of Amarpura Mohalla to identify suspected patients.

Meanwhile, confirming the death, the Civil Surgeon, Patiala, Dr Harish Malhotra, said the woman was shifted to Rajindra Hospital as she required to be put on a ventilator and the Civil Hospital did not have one.

“She died in the afternoon today. In the evening, the report for her Covid-19 test came, which said she was positive. She was suffering from acute respiratory problem,” said Dr Malhotra.

Bodies with capacity to serve 1,000 meals can proivde food

Agrawal said NGOs, social, religious and industrial organisations were serving food/langar in the district and only those organisations would be allowed to serve food that had food packets for a minimum of 1,000 persons. The smaller organisations can form a cluster.

Sabzi Mandi shut down

Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal said the District Administration had ordered the closure of main Sabzi Mandi situated on Jalandhar Bypass. The decision has been taken to prevent crowding in the area.