Slight dip in cases in Punjab; 8,068 new cases, 180 deaths

| | Chandigarh
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Slight dip in cases in Punjab; 8,068 new cases, 180 deaths

Saturday, 15 May 2021 | PNS | Chandigarh

Giving a sigh of little relief, Punjab on Friday witnessed a slight dip in daily positive cases, and also in its positivity rate. The state recorded 8,068 fresh cases at the positivity rate of 11.29 percent against 8,494 new infections reported at the positivity rate of 12.85 percent a day before.

The state’s COVID-19 infection tally now stood at 4,83,984, of which 79,359 are active cases (accounting for 16.40 percent). Among these, 9,820 patients are on oxygen support while 421 are critical and on ventilator support 421.Besides, a total of 180 casualties were reported from the state with maximum 23 reported from Amritsar; followed by 19 from Ludhiana; 18 from Bathinda; 13 each from Patiala and Jalandhar; 11 from Muktsar; 10 each from Gurdaspur and Mohali, among others.

Among districts, Ludhiana reported the highest number of cases in the past 24 hours with 1320 fresh cases (at the positivity rate of 9.32 percent; followed by Bathinda with 988 (21.60 percent); Mohali 661 (17.90 percent); Patiala 570 (11.98 percent); Jalandhar 551 (10.27 percent); Pathankot 486 (18.38 percent); Fazilka 451 (14.92 percent); Amritsar 408 (9.29 percent); Muktsar 403 (16.11 percent); Hoshiarpur 358 (8.77 percent); Gurdaspur 258 (7.83 percent); Mansa 258 (12.61 percent); Sangrur 236 (6.69 percent); Ferozepur 229 (16.12 percent); Faridkot 176 (12.58 percent); Ropar 167 (12.62 percent); Kapurthala 166 (6.44 percent); Fatehgarh Sahib 135 (8.63 percent); SBS Nagar 112 (5.27 percent); among others.

HAND OVER COVID CENTRES IN MAJOR CITIES TO ARMY: SAD TO GOVT

SAD’s senior leader and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra on Friday demanded that Punjab Government should hand over its COVID centers at Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Bathinda to the Army’s Western Command as people’s faith in the State Government’s ability to run medical facilities had eroded completely. Chandumajra pointed out that doctors and medical staff from Western Command had done a good job handling 100 bed super-specialty wing of Patiala’s Rajindra Hospital. “It should be handed over COVID treatment facilities in other major cities of the State also on a similar pattern,” he added.

CHANDUMAJRA DEMANDS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

SAD leader also demanded that financial assistance of Rs 5,000 should be extended to all truckers as well as taxi and auto owners, Rs 3,000 to rickshaw pullers as well as labourers and khet mazdoor. Similarly, a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal should be given on the recently harvested wheat produce. “Bi-monthly electricity and water bills should also be waived off immediately, and that the Government should extend this facility to the common man for the next six months,” he added.

SET UP NODAL AGENCY TO CHECK PRIVATE HOSPITALS: AAP TO GOVT

AAP’s Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann on Friday demanded that the Punjab Government should set up a nodal agency to curb the looting of COVID patients by the private hospitals in the name of costly treatment and free treatment should be provided to the people of the State who were already suffering from economic downturn.  “The treatment of COVID victims has turned into a business of looting by some private hospitals and they are charging Rs 10 to 15 lakh from the victims in the name of treatment. There are many cases where the private hospital treated the COVID victim for 15 or 20 days and also took Rs 15 lakh from the family but the patient still died,” he added. Mann said that due to the rage of Covid, some private hospitals and other institutions in the state were also black marketing the essential medicines and medical equipment for treatment but the State Government was in slumber.

UPSCALE L3 FACILITIES AT AIIMS BY PROVIDING VENTILATORS, ADDITIONAL O2: HARSIMRAT TO SONI

SAD’s Bathinda MP and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday requested Punjab Cabinet Minister OP Soni to upscale the Level III (L3) facilities at AIIMS-Bathinda by providing ventilators and additional oxygen supply to the institute so that it could provide quality affordable healthcare to more COVID patients.  Harsimrat, in a letter to the Health Minister, also requested him to review the Congress Government’s decision to establish a COVID Centre at the Advance Cancer Institute.

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