2 Covid patients die, minister says Nanded incident to blame as 75 news cases surface

Another person from Patiala also tested positive after death.

Of 32,060 samples from Punjab, 24,303 have tested negative and results of 6,231 are awaited. A total of 135 patients have recovered and there are 1,364 active cases in the state at present.

35 new patients are Nanded returnees

Of the new cases on Wednesday, 35 were pilgrims who had returned from Nanded. A total of 1,044 pilgrims who recently returned to the state have tested positive so far, accounting for 68.4 per cent of the total cases in Punjab.

Punjab Health Minister Punjab Balbir Singh Sidhu on Wednesday linked the increase in cases with the return of pilgrims from Nanded.

Sidhu said that Punjab figures were earlier below 400. “Figures have not increased in Punjab, they have increased after the Nanded Sahib incident took place and people from Hazur Sahib or labour from that side returned to Punjab.”

At Jalandhar, he told media persons, “We have handled 400 plus 1,100 who got infected outside, in the isolation wards very well,” he said.

The minister added that the health department has been asked to further expedite sampling in the district. He said 4,511 swab tests have been conducted so far in Jalandhar.

About the close to 1,200 pending reports of the district, Sidhu said everything will be set right in a day or two. – WITH ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA