Punjab Covid death toll nears 300, Faridkot IG among 468 positive

CHANDIGARH: Punjab reported 468 new positive cases of Covid-19 and nine deaths due to the virus on Saturday, taking the state’s tally to 12,684 and the casualty count to 291.
Faridkot range inspector general of police Kaustubh Sharma was also among those whose reports came positive for coronavirus infection. Four Covid-19 patients breathed their last in Ludhiana district and one each in Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Barnala, Amritsar and Ropar districts.
Ludhiana reported the highest number of new cases, 155. It was followed by 55 cases in Amritsar, 40 in Patiala, 38 in Sangrur, 32 in Mohali, 29 in Jalandhar, 18 each in Barnala and Bathinda, 16 in Gurdaspur, and 10 each in Kapurthala, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ferozepur districts.
Also, 201 patients recovered and were discharged from medical facilities. Of the total 468 new patients, 11 had a source of infection from outside Punjab, 13 were health care workers, 14 were police personnel and five jail inmates.
Of the total 4,096 Covid-19 active cases in Punjab, Patiala is at the top with 764 cases, followed by Ludhiana (759), Jalandhar (704), Amritsar (305) and Sangrur (226).
Amritsar district has recorded the highest number of 66 Covid deaths till now, followed by 54 in Ludhiana, 37 in Jalandhar and 23 in Sangrur, 20 in Patiala.
IG Sharma had mild fever for two days and his report came positive on Saturday morning. Sharma had come in contact of a police official who tested positive. IG is being isolated at a hospital.
Faridkot civil surgeon Dr Rajinder Kumar said the IG’s test was taken 15 days ago, when he had tested negative, but the test was taken yesterday again and he tested positive. “The health authorities have traced nearly 40 persons who came into contact of IG and they have been asked to go for home quarantine,” he said.
Superintendent of police (investigation) Sukhdev Singh Virk and deputy superintendent of police Rachhpal Singh Dhindsa were among four police personnel who tested positive in Barnala. Apart from the two, a woman constable and a home guard jawan were also found infected.
While the state government bulletin said 18 people tested positive in Bathinda, district civil surgeon Amrik Singh Sandhu there were 65 new cases, including 45 of labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who had returned to Punjab. They were seeking jobs in Guru Gobind Singh refinery and were living in labour colonies situated near the refinery. Earlier, 32 labourers had tested positive on July 23 from labour colonies around refinery, though none of them had entered refinery.
(Inputs from Bathinda)