Capt for strict monitoring of entrants, more testing in Punjab

Chandigarh, June 13

Expressing serious concerns over the spread of Covid in the state from those coming from outside, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday called for strict checking of entrants from other states, particularly Delhi, where cases were spiralling out of control.

He, however, made it clear that Punjabis were welcome to come from Delhi for Covid treatment in Punjab after getting their hospital beds reserved here on the recommendation of a Delhi hospital. The Chief Minister was responding to a question from a Punjab resident working in Delhi during his Facebook Live #AskCaptain session.

On the issue of sealing Punjab’s borders with other states, Captain Amarinder said while Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh had sealed their borders with Punjab, people were coming from Haryana and Delhi every day in large numbers. His government is mulling ways to make entry norms more stringent, given the increasing number of positive cases in the state, said the Chief Minister, adding that of the total of 2,986 cases in Punjab, 1,471 could be traced to outsiders and their contacts.

Though the state is still performing relatively better than many other states in the country, cases in Punjab are also continuing to spiral up, necessitating tough measures, the Chief Minister said.

He promised to scale up testing to 20,000 a day soon. Pointing to the spike of 117 cases in a single day in the state, the CM attributed it to the huge influx of people into the state. As many as 43,000 people entered the state in just one month. — TNS

43K arrived in month

Capt Amarinder promised to scale up testing to 20,000 a day soon. Pointing to the spike of 117 cases in a single day in the state, the CM attributed it to the huge influx of people into Punjab. As many as 43,000 people entered the state in just one month.