Microbiologist at Covid lab tests positive in Jalandhar

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 16

The state reported 11 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the count to 197. Six cases surfaced in Jalandhar, three Patiala and two Pathankot. Besides, a patient undergoing treatment in Amritsar passed away today.

Sixty-year-old Sansar Singh Bhaini of Passwal village in Gurdaspur died at GMCH, Amritsar. He had attended the cremation of his relative, a former Army subedar who had died of coronavirus in Jalandhar.

With Jalandhar emerging as the second-most active hotspot of the state, Medical Superintendent Dr Mandeep Kaur has been transferred. The patients who tested today positive in the district included two contacts of a Shahkot woman — her 56-year-old husband and a 30-yer-old nurse who treated her.

Notably, three people, including a microbiologist, also tested positive for Covid-19 via rapid test. Their swab samples have been sent to Amritsar for confirmation. At least 10 staff members of the civil hospital and close contacts of the microbiologist have been put under quarantine.

In Patiala, the wife and two children of an infected social worker tested positive. Civil Surgeon said all three were shifted to the isolation ward of Government Rajindra Hospital. He said they were earlier home-quarantined. The Health Department informed that around six persons who came in contact with the family members would also be tested after two days. Following three news cases in the district, the department started the screening process of the entire city.

(With inputs from Ravi Dhaliwal, Aparna Banerji and Karam Prakash)