33 test positive for coronavirus in Bathinda in a single day
Bathinda, May 3
A steep hike in Covid-19 patients was reported in the Bathinda district as 33 more tested positive on Saturday night, taking the total number of cases in the district to 35 so far.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old suspected Covid-19 patient from Maur Khurd passed away. He had returned from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and was undergoing treatment at the Faridkot Medical College. His test report is yet to come and his family members have claimed that if his report returns positive, they will not take his body to their home.
Bathinda has also become a Covid-19 hotspot and has been named as a red zone. This has led to panic amongst the residents who are raising questions on the poor management of the state government in bringing back pilgrims from Nanded Sahib. They claimed that they should have been tested before leaving for Punjab and even on their arrival they should have been kept in quarantine at government centres, instead of sending them home for quarantine.
In Mansa, three more positive cases have been reported. All of them are pilgrims who returned from Nanded Sahib. With these cases, the total toll of cases reported in Mansa has gone up to 16. Four have been cured.
On Saturday night, test reports of 126 persons came back, from which 33 were positive. In the last four days, 335 samples were sent for testing, but testing has been slow. However, the health department had sent the reports of 99 persons to a private lab for testing.
Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan said: “There is no need to panic as all the cases reported in Bathinda are persons who came from outside (Nanded) and they were all kept in government quarantine centre.”
