Amritsar records two more coronavirus fatalities; Punjab tally stands over 3,000

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 13

Punjab’s coronavirus death tally shot past 3,000 after the state reported 77 new coronavirus cases on Saturday and recorded two more deaths.

Punjab’s coronavirus tally now stands at 3,063 cases.

Amristar and Tarn Taran together reported four deaths, although only two have been recorded in the state tally. 

Amritsar reported three more deaths on Saturday---a 75-year-old from Lahori gate area, a 72-year-old man from  from Ranjit Avenue and a 73-year-old man from Chitta Katra.

However, only two of these have been recorded in the state’s COVID bulletin on Saturday.

In Tarn Taran, test results of a policeman who died on Friday night tested positive came back positive. 

The policeman was an assistant sub-inspector deputed at the office of the local Senior Superintendent of Police. He was admitted at the local civil hospital on June 11 as a suspected pneumonia case and was then sent to a hospital in Amritsar Hospital, where he died.

His death has prompted district police to screen all police personnel in the district for coronavirus. Their swab samples will be sent for testing to Government Medical College, Amritsar.  

Ludhiana (26), SAS Nagar (11), Amritsar (9), Pathankot (6), SBS Nagar (5), Jalandhar (5), Tarn Taran (4), Sangrur (3), Barnala (2), Ropar (1), Ferozepur (1), Bathinda (1), Kapurthala (1) and Patiala (1) and Fatehgarh Sahib (1) all reported new cases, the bulletin showed.

Only Kapurthala, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran reported people with recent travel records testing positive.

Ludhiana reported the most coronavirus cases on Saturday. Of Ludhiana’s 26 new cases, 17 were contacts of already diagnosed patients, eight were (influenza like illness) and one was categorised as ANC.

A day after it recorded 63 new coronavirus infections¸ Amritsar reported nine new cases---five cases of ILI (influenza like illness), two contacts of positive cases and two new cases.

Of SAS Nagar's 11 cases, eight were from Mubarakpur village. They were contacts of a man who tested positive after he returned from Delhi last month. Three others were from Baltana, and were categorised in the bulletin as new cases.

Apart from Tarn Taran, Sangrur and Pathankot also had police personnel testing positive.

Bathinda lone case was an army man testing positive. Pathala’s lone case was a staff nurse.

The district-wise breakup for COVID-19 cases in Punjab stands as follows: Amritsar (601), Jalandhar (323), Ludhiana (333), Gurdaspur (166), Tarn Taran (164), Patiala (149), SAS Nagar (154), Hoshiarpur (137), Sangrur (138), Pathankot (138), SBS Nagar (119), Faridkot (86), Ropar (78), Fatehgarh Sahib (74), Muktsar (72), Moga (69), Bathinda (57), Fazilka (50), Ferozepur (48),  Kapurthala (42), Mansa (34), and Barnala (31).    

The state's death toll stands thus: Amritsar (18), Ludhiana (10), Jalandhar (10), Hoshiarpur (5), Pathankot (4), Gurdaspur (3), SAS Nagar (3), Kapurthala (3), Patiala (3), Tarn Taran (1), SBS Nagar (1), Sangrur (1), Ferozepur (1), Ropar (1), and Barnala (1).

Some 14 people are on oxygen support in Punjab, and one person is critical and on ventilator support, the bulletin showed.

Three districts in Punjab---Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana---account for 41 per cent of Punjab’s coronavirus cases and 58 per cent of Punjab’s deaths.

Punjab has witnessed a steady rise in cases in June. The state now has 671 active cases---more than twice the number of cases the state had at the end of May.