Migrant dies, 5 more positive; dist tally 69

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 25

With six more persons testing positive for Covid-19, including one death, the total number of positive cases in the district has risen to 69.

Jalandhar has now surpassed the total number of cases in Mohali and become the most affected district in the state by the pandemic. A 48-year-old migrant worker died of Covid at a private hospital this morning. The person was confirmed to be Covid positive hours after his death this evening. The six new cases reported positive today include an employee of a local media house and his contacts and the person who died today. The cases include a five-year-old boy and mother (65), wife (37) and cousin of the media house employee and another employee.

The sixth person, who tested positive and died today, was admitted to a private hospital on Tuesday, whose sample was tested by a private lab in Amritsar. Reported to a local hospital with severe anaemia, the person died at 2 am on Saturday. The private hospital said confirmation was received from an Amritsar laboratory at 2 pm that the patient had tested positive.

Dr Daljit Singh Johal, owner of the hospital and a veteran doctor, said: “The patient was reported on Tuesday morning with lower haemoglobin. Following this, he was isolated. We asked his attendants to take him to the Civil Hospital for Covid test, which they refused to do. We sent a mail to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) yesterday and two mails were sent this morning after his death but we never heard back from the hospital. After his death, we sought the DC’s help for the last rites, in view of the patient’s Covid status. After the SDM’s intervention, the patient was cremated this afternoon by our teams.”

Dr Johal said his sample was confirmed as positive by the Amritsar-based private lab where we sent it for testing.

He said: “He was conscious when he came to us, but his condition deteriorated after respiratory distress since Thursday and for two days he was on ventilator.” The 48-year-old was a Maharashtrian native staying at Basti Gujan and working at a leather factory in the city. Staying at a rented room, along with co-workers, he was brought to the hospital by his fellow workers.

Dr TP Singh, Nodal officer Covid-19, Jalandhar, said: “Barring the cases associated with the media house reported today, the 48-year-old deceased was cremated with due Covid protocol amid his pending report status. We had not received an intimation from the Amritsar civil surgeon yet. The department is also looking into claims of mails sent to officials.”