The number of COVID-19 positive cases spiked to 38 in Punjab on Friday and of these at least 25 cases are directly or indirectly related to a 70-year-old man, who succumbed to the virus last week.
The deceased, a resident of Pathlawa village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, had arrived from Germany via Italy at Delhi airport on March 7 and proceeded to Punjab on the same day along with two fellow travellers. He had a history of diabetes and hypertension and was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 18. The trio defied the self-quarantine advisory of the government and went ahead with “socialising”.
‘Victim met many’
The deceased, a Granthi (priest) at a gurdwara in his village Pathlawa, attended Hola Mohalla festival in Anandpur Sahib between March 8 and 10 and returned to his village. Before being tested positive, the deceased and his two travel companions reportedly met scores of people and could have widely transmitted the disease.
“Five fresh cases have been reported today (March 27). Of the total 38 positive COVID-19 cases, 25 people are family members of the deceased or had come in contact with him. We are making all efforts to trace all those who came in contact with the trio from the time they returned to India. Close to 30 villages have been quarantined in those districts we believe that these people had travelled,” Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu told The Hindu.
State health department medical bulletin said that of the five new cases reported in Punjab on March 27, three patients, who are from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, were in close contact with a positive patient. The other two patients are from Jalandhar and Ludhiana, it added.
First patient cured
Also, the first reported COVID-19 patient in Punjab has been cured.
The patient, who had returned to Amritsar from Italy, came out to be COVID-19 negative in the latest report after treatment. The male patient was tested positive for the disease earlier this month and was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Amritsar.
