Two more deaths in Punjab; 67 per cent cases have Nanded link

Punjab reported two coronavirus deaths on Tuesday as the number of people testing positive rose to 1,451, a spike caused by 219 fresh cases, most of them pilgrims who had been to the Nanded gurdwara in Maharashtra.

Out of the 219 new cases, 174 are Nanded pilgrims.

They now account for 67 per cent (969) of the total 1,451 coronavirus cases detected so far in the state, a health official said.

Officials said the death toll in the state rose to 25 after a 55-year-old Hoshiarpur man and a 22-year-old woman from Amritsar succumbed to the infection. Both died on Monday.

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.