Coronavirus: Patiala reports 18 new cases in 24 hours, takes district tally to 49

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 22

Punjab has recorded 26 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, taking the state tally to 277.

Patiala saw a major spike in cases on Wednesday---the district reported 18 new infections, taking its number to 49. 

Five people tested positive in Jalandhar---all contacts of previously diagnosed patients, the state government’s evening bulletin said.

Kapurthala recorded one new case---a 7-month-old baby from Phagwara tested positive in Chandigarh on Wednesday afternoon, officials said. The source of the infant's infection is yet unknown.

The infant has a congenital heart disease, and had been admitted to Ludhiana's Apollo Hospital Ludhiana until April 8, and was then moved to Chandigarh's Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, where she was critically ill and required continuous ventilator support and antimicrobials.

The hospital said that after she showed some improvement, doctors began to prepare for a corrective surgery. 

“After a detailed assessment by the cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, she was due to be taken up for open-heart surgery in the Advanced Cardiology Centre, PGI. However, a preoperative test for COVID-19 turned out to be positive on April 21," PGIMER's official statement said.

Amritsar reported two new cases, taking the district's tally to 13.

The development takes the number of cases in Kapurthala to three, with one cured. 

Punjab has tested 7,887 cases and has recorded 16 deaths. There are 188 active cases in the state, with one patient who is in critical condition on ventilator support and another on oxygen support.

Mohali still has the highest number of cases at 62, followed by Jalandhar at 53. Wednesday's development makes Patiala the district with the third highest number of infections in the state. 

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