Chandigarh: Punjab reported 44 deaths and 2,669 cases on Sunday, the worst-ever for the state. This is the highest figure as far as both cases and deaths are concerned this year. The first case of Covid was reported in March last year. Since then, the total number of cases has reached 213,000 and 6,324 deaths have been reported. In January, the daily average of cases had come down to around 200. But now, over the past one week, an average 2,000 cases are being reported.
Among districts, Jalandhar reported the highest 393 cases in the last 24 hours, Ludhiana reported 330, SAS Nagar 327, Hoshiarpur 259 and Patiala reported 244 cases. As far as deaths are concerned, Hoshiarpur topped the chart with 10 deaths, followed by Ludhiana with eight deaths, Gurdaspur seven deaths, Jalandhar six, Amritsar five, Tarn Taran two and Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Patiala, SAS Nagar and Sangrur reported one death each.
The state government had recently closed all educational institutions other than medical and nursing colleges in the state till March 31 and issued stricter guidelines to contain the fresh surge. Night curfew has also been imposed in 11 districts from 9 pm to 5 am. The Punjab Police acted tough on people not wearing masks at public places and made 4,400 violators undergo RT-PCR testing. In addition, 1,800 persons were issued challans. The police also distributed free face masks to over 12,000 persons.
2nd wave likely to be more severe
The second Covid peak is yet to come and is expected to be higher than the first one. By the end of this week, almost 3,000 cases a day can be expected. A study by Ludhiana-based Christian Medical College, based on mathematical calculations, has predicted that the state could see the peak again later this week and through the first week of April. This will be followed by a flattening of the curve, but when the decline in daily cases will start cannot be predicted immediately, says Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, state nodal officer for Covid.
This is why it is important to gear up all healthcare infrastructure immediately and ensure that all protocols are followed strictly by the people, Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said. Managing the state’s strategy to deal with the second wave of the pandemic, Mahajan says that the government’s focus is on saving lives as well as livelihoods.
Asked about the possibility of imposing another lockdown, the Chief Secretary says that there is no situation, as of now, of bringing the economic activities to a halt. “Hopefully, with the cooperation of the people, wherein they follow all norms, we will come out of the dire situation,” she says. “Of the 1,500 beds in level-3 facilities, 22 per cent are occupied and of the 8,000 level-2 facilities, 15 per cent are occupied,” she says.