Chandigarh records 6 fresh cases in biggest single-day spike

City’s count reaches 36; those infected include two nurses besides four family members of a hospital staffer who tested positive earlier

Thirty-nine days after reporting its first Covid-19 case, Chandigarh on Sunday witnessed the biggest single-day spike with six people testing positive for the viral disease and taking the city’s total count to 36.

Two of these infected people are health workers while the remaining four are contacts of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, employee who had tested positive on Friday.

The number of active cases in Chandigarh stands at 19 while reports of 42 suspected cases are awaited. Earlier, with five fresh cases, the biggest spike was seen on March 30.

A 25-year-old man who resides in Sector 32 and works as a staff nurse in the emergency ward of GMCH is among the new cases. According to officials, he is not a direct contact of the previous GMCH employee.

Similarly, a 26-year-old female nursing officer who was posted in the emergency outpatient department of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has tested positive. She belongs to Haryana and was staying at Nivedita Hostel on the PGIMER campus in Sector 12.

The other four are the mother, two sisters and a child related to the previous GMCH employee, who is a resident of Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26. His father and a colleague had also tested positive on Saturday.

Meanwhile, 11 people living in separate households of the same building have been sampled in Bapu Dham Colony besides one living in Sector 52, who too was a contact of the GMCH employee. His two more relatives from Mauli Jagran are being sampled at Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16. Their reports besides those of eight other relatives are awaited.

Among his 20 workplace contacts, only one tested positive. Out of 124 community contacts, two have been sampled and their results are pending.

Meanwhile, of three suspected patients who died at the PGIMER on Sunday, two have tested negative, while the report of one is awaited, said an official.