Two women die in Punjab, coronavirus fatalities rise to 7

Chandigarh, April 5 

The death toll due to coronavirus rose to seven in Punjab on Sunday after two elderly women succumbed to the infection in the state, an official said.

While one of them belonged to Ludhiana, the other was a Pathankot resident.

Ludhiana Civil Surgeon Rajesh Kumar said over the phone that a 69-year-old woman died at a private hospital there. The woman, a resident of Shimlapuri area in Ludhiana, was admitted to the hospital in a serious condition on March 31.

She was a heart patient and suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, he said. Earlier, she had gone to Mohali to meet her relatives.

The second victim was a 75-year-old woman from Pathankot district, who died at an Amritsar hospital, officials said. 

Amritsar Civil Surgeon Prabhdeep Kaur Johal said she was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital on April 3 after she complained of breathlessness, cough and fever.

Meanwhile, three more persons tested positive for the infection in Punjab, taking the total count of confirmed cases to 68 in the state.

Among fresh cases was a person from Ludhiana who had attended the Tabligh-e-Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area last month, a medical bulletin said.

A 44-year-old woman from Barnala district tested positive for the infection despite having no travel history to any COVID-hit area, officials said, adding that his contacts are being traced.

A 42-year-old man from Dera Bassi in Mohali contracted coronavirus and was admitted to a Sector 32 hospital in Chandigarh. 

The maximum 19 cases in the state have been reported from Nawanshahr, followed by Mohali (15), Amritsar (8), Hoshiarpur (7), Jalandhar (6), Ludhiana (5), Mansa (3) and one each in Patiala, Rupnagar, Faridkot,  Barnala and Pathankot, as per the medical bulletin. 

One patient is critical and is on ventilator support, the medical bulletin said.

Of the total 68 patients, seven have died while four have been discharged from hospital.

A total of 2,208 samples have been taken so far in the state, of which the 1,711 tested negative for the infection. Reports of 429 are awaited. — PTI