Maha govt failed to properly screen Nanded pilgrims: Pb health min

With several pilgrims who returned from Nanded testing positive for coronavirus, Punjab Health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Monday claimed that the Maharashtra government had erred in not conducting proper screening and tests of the stranded Sikh devotees.

Due to the failure on the part of the Maharashtra government, the number of positive cases in Punjab rose, Sidhu alleged in a statement here.

Sidhu informed that he had also spoken to his counterpart in Maharashtra government Rajesh Tope, over phone and had expressed displeasure over this development.

"Had the Maharashtra government informed the Punjab government on time, we would have been able to make arrangements accordingly," the minister said in Ludhiana said.

The Maharashtra government simply tested their body temperature, claimed Sidhu.

Had they tested the pilgrims, we would have known how many out of them are positive and negative and subsequently, their travel arrangements would have been made accordingly," he said.

"Had they done this exercise of segregating positive and negative patients, the Punjab government would have brought them separately," he added.

Sidhu further said that Maharashtra has become a COVID-19 hotspot and blamed the "negligence" of the state government there for the spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Punjab.

He assured that the Punjab government is working hard to ensure that people stay safe.

Sidhu has been facing opposition's ire after several people from the state tested positive for COVID-19 following their return from a pilgrimage in Nanded, Maharashtra.

The Akali Dal has accused the state government of mismanaging the return of pilgrims and has sought Sidhu's sacking from the cabinet.

Punjab has continued to witness a steep rise in the number of cases over the last few days on account of pilgrims getting infected with the virus.

A total of 795 of around 4,100 pilgrims returned from Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra have contracted the infection so far, said a health official on Monday.