Officials take samples of a Covid suspected patient in Nawanshahr’s Pathlawa village. Malkiat Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 26
With two more cases reported on Thursday, the number of Covid cases has reached 33 in the state. One case has been reported from Jalandhar and the other from Nawanshahr.
The 72-year-old Jalandhar patient is admitted to a hospital in Ludhiana. The Nawanshahr patient, the mother of a village sarpanch, got infected from a Covid-positive patient.
2 districts get Rs 25 cr
- The Health Department has given Rs 25 lakh each to DCs of Amritsar and Ludhiana to control the outbreak of Covid. Also, Rs 15 lakh each has been given to DCs of Mohali, Patiala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Bathinda. DCs of the remaining districts have received Rs 10 lakh each. Besides, Rs 10 lakh each has been released for Civil Surgeons of Amritsar and Ludhiana districts to purchase equipment.
The Health Department said the condition of all positive patients is stable.
The 72-year-old woman from Jalandhar is the fourth patient from the district to test positive. The other three patients are relatives of a 70-year-old Nawanshahr man, who died of Covid last week.
She was taken to the Civil Hospital here on March 20, but she was not tested there because doctors reportedly said the she did not have serious symptoms. Subsequently, her family took her to Christian Medical College (CMC), Ludhiana, where her samples were taken.
At present, she is admitted to the CMC. She is facing respiratory trouble, sources say.
Epidemiologist Dr Shobhna confirmed that the 72-year-old woman visited the Civil Hospital in Jalandhar on March 20. “She did not have serious symptoms then. Now that she has tested positive, we are tracing her contacts. We have taken samples of four to five persons living in the area where the 72-year-old woman resides. She doesn’t have a travel history. However, it is being said her daughter-in-law or some other relative returned from Italy recently.”
Neighbours said she had attended a gathering and served langar during a Holi event from March 10 to 12.
Meanwhile, 15 villages in Nawanshahr district with a population of 20,000 have been quarantined. About 250 sample shave been taken from the district with comprehensive sampling conducted at Pathlawa, Jhikka and Ladhana Uccha villages.
On Thursday, more than 100 samples were taken to step up diagnosis.
Two children from Balachaur with travel history of Italy were tested recently. They have tested negative for the virus.
The department said that in the past one week, 205 samples were collected and, of them, 33 were tested positive. Besides, the department has identified 667 people who were in contact with the infected people and they have been quarantined.