No let-up: 13 new cases surface in Amritsar district

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 9

With 13 fresh cases surfacing on Tuesday, the total count of Covid-19 cases has increased to 515 in the district. Of the new cases, six are ILI (influenza-like illness) cases, five are contacts of positive cases and two are asymptomatic patients.

The health authorities stated that one ILI case each was reported from Garden Enclave, Varindavan Garden, Shastri Nagar, Katra Khazana, Hall Gate Purani Mandi and Rambagh.

Meanwhile, two contacts of a positive case from Garden Colony and three contacts of a case from Sharma Colony were reported. Further, Moon Avenue and Garehwali Gali near the bus stand also reported two (one from each locality) asymptomatic cases.

Civil Surgeon Dr Jugal Kishore said 15 more patients had been discharged from hospital after complete recovery. The district has seen 378 recoveries and 11 deaths due to the disease so far. At present, the number of active cases admitted to hospital is 126.

A large number of cases, with the exception of returnees from Nanded, are being reported from the city, especially old city areas with narrow streets and a dense population. The district administration has already declared a cluster of six localities in the walled city as a containment zone.

The district administration has begun sanitising areas and a survey of people having symptoms of Covid-19. Cabinet Minister Om Parkash Soni who reviewed the situation in a meeting with officials stated that instructions had been issued to the administration to ensure that the testing of at least 1,000 persons was done daily.

Meanwhile, the Health Department organised a training programme for rural medical health officers and homoeopathy medical officers for sample collection, sample sealing and self protection. Officials stated that as extensive testing was on the cards, the department would need more expert hands for the purpose.