20 more COVID-19 cases reported in Punjab; total jumps to 99

Punjab registered a sharp jump in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday after 20 people, including three who attended the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi, tested positive for coronavirus, pushing the total in the state to 99, officials said.

The death toll due to the virus too rose to eight after a 65-year-old retired Superintendent engineer died, they said.

With seven new cases, Mohali (26) now topped the COVID-19 tally, surpassing Nawanshahr (19), another hotspot of the virus in the state.

The other fresh cases were reported from Pathankot (six), Moga (4), Mansa (2) and Amritsar (1).

The total number of cases in the areas are: 10 in Amritsar, 7 each in Hoshiarpur and Pathankot, 6 each in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, 5 in Mansa, 4 in Moga, 3 in Rupnagar, 2 inFathehgarh Sahib and 1 each in Patiala, Faridkot, Barnala and Kapurthala.

In Pathankot, six family members of a75-year-old coronavirus positive woman, who died on April 5,contracted the infection. All have been admitted to a hospital,officials said.

In Mohali, the fresh cases were reported from village Jawaharpur in Dera Bassi and all of them have been admitted to a hospital in Banur, official said.

A 35-year old man from Moga tested positive for coronavirus, they said.

One patient is critical and is on ventilator support while two are serious,officials said.

Fourteen people have so far been discharged from hospital after recovery.

A total of 2,559 samples have been taken so far in the state and of which, the 2,204 samples were negative and reports of 256 samples are still awaited.