As many as 1,051 fresh Covid 19 cases and 17 related fatalities were reported from Punjab on Sunday pushing the total number of cases to 1,88,391 and the death toll to 5,927.
The number of active cases also increased from 7,164 on Saturday to 7,497 on Sunday.
Yesterday, 1,179 cases were reported from the state. Meanwhile, a night curfew has been imposed in Jalandhar, SBS Nagar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala to tackle the coronavirus spread.
Today, SBS Nagar reported the maximum 157 cases, followed by Jalandhar (131), Kapurthala (117), Ludhiana (108) and Amritsar (102).
On the other hand, 693 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured people to 1,74,967, the bulletin said. There are 14 patients who are on ventilator while 143 are on oxygen support, the health bulletin added.
Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan earlier this morning chaired a meeting of the state health response and procurement committee of the Department of Health, Medical Education and School Education in view of a surge in fresh Covid-19 cases in the state in recent weeks.
She said the government is keeping a close watch and a decision on reducing occupancy or closing restaurants, malls and cinema houses would be taken depending on the COVID-19 situation in the state.
During the meeting, she reviewed and discussed with experts possible steps to effectively tackle the spread of the infection, an official statement said here.
Dr Mandeep Bhandari, Joint Secretary to Government of India, who had recently visited Punjab as head of the Central team along with Dr Lakshmi from PGIMER shared their observations regarding the surge in COVID-19 cases in Punjab.
They were of the view that the primary reason for the surge in cases in the state is because people were not following COVID-appropriate behaviour and not strictly abiding by the safety protocols.
Principal Secretary of Medical Education D K Tewari said students of medical colleges are getting tested for COVID-19 every 15 days and no positive case has been found yet.
Mahajan directed the health and medical education Departments to strengthen their treatment facilities to deal with a "second wave" and fill vacant posts on priority.
(With inputs from agencies)
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.