Pilgrims, others returning to Punjab to be quarantined for 21 days: Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said a 21-day quarantine was mandatory for all those returning to the state from other places, a day after eight pilgrims, who had recently returned from Nanded, tested positive for coronavirus.

All pilgrims returning from Nanded in Maharashtra and students and labourers coming from Rajasthan will be stopped at the border and sent to government quarantine centres, he said in an official statement here.

He added that Radha Soami Satsang Deras would also be used to quarantine these people, whose return was being facilitated by his government since the past three days.

The CM made the announcement while discussing the COVID-19 and lockdown situation as well as the ongoing procurement operations in the state with Congress MLAs through a video conference, the statement said.

Around 4,000 pilgrims from Punjab who had gone to pay obeisance at the Gurdwara Hazur Sahib in Nanded were stranded there because of the lockdown imposed to combat coronavirus. Now, they are being brought back after the intervention of the Union Home Ministry.

Besides, 3,000 workers from Jaisalmer and 152 students from Kota in Rajasthan are also being brought back to the state.

The chief minister said the state has already lost 19 lives to COVID-19 and reported 330 cases of infection.

After the NRIs and the Tablighi Jamaat, the latest threat was on account of the pilgrims coming back from Gurdwara Hazur Sahib in Nanded, the CM said.

Another large 'jatha' (group of people) is expected to return to Punjab on Wednesday and the state government plans to put all of them under quarantine in the Radha Soami deras, he added.