Punjab coronavirus tally rises to 1,451; 67 per cent of cases have Nanded link

Punjab witnessed another significant rise in coronavirus cases on Tuesday with 219 more people, mostly Nanded pilgrims, testing positive for the infection.

Two peoplea 55-year-old Hoshiarpur man and a 22-year-old woman from Amritsaralso succumbed to the infection, taking the death toll to 25 in the state. Both died on Monday.

Of the state's tally of 1,451, those who have returned from Maharashtra's Nanded account for 67 per cent (969 cases), a health official said.

Of the 219 cases reported on Tuesday, 174 were linked to the Nanded pilgrims.

The maximum 48 fresh cases surfaced in Gurdaspur, followed by 47 in Tarn Taran and 34 in Fazilka, a medical bulletin said.

Twenty-seven people were found infected with the virus in Faridkot; 22 in Sangrur; 15 in Muktsar; 14 in Ludhiana; six in Jalandhar; five in Kapurthala; and one in Patiala.

Meanwhile, notorious Punjab gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria also tested posted for the virus in Gurdaspur's Batala, where he was brought on a production warrant from a Patiala jail in the murder case of an Akali leader.

Over 30 police personnel who interrogated him will be quarantined and tested, the authorities said.

Five COVID-19 patientsfour from Patiala and one from Pathankot--were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

So far, 133 patients have recovered from the disease, officials said.

Amritsar continued to top the coronavirus tally with 218 coronavirus cases in the state, followed by Jalandhar (134); Ludhiana (124); Mohali (95); Hoshiarpur (88); Patiala and Tarn Taran (87 each); SBS Nagar and Sangrur (85 each); Gurdaspur (84); Muktsar (64); Faridkot (45); Ferozepur (42); Fazilka (38); Bathinda (36); Moga (28); Pathankot (27); Barnala (19); Kapurthala (18); Mansa (17); Fatehgarh Sahib (16); and Rupnagar (14).

Two patients are on ventilator support.

A total of 30,199 samples have been taken so far in the state, of which, 23,352 tested negative for the infection. Reports of 5,396 samples are awaited.

Currently, there are 1,293 active cases in the state, as per the bulletin.