Everyone entering P’kula from red zones to be tested after surge in Covid-19 cases

Two more Covid-19 cases on Monday pushed up the district’s count to 36 even as the administration, concerned with the surge in infections – 10 cases reported from June 3 to 8 – decided to test everyone returning from the four red zone areas of Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

Of the two fresh cases reported to be contacts of positive patients, one is the 27-year-old wife of a Sector 20 resident who was found infected on Sunday. The other is a 46-year-old man from Sector 12A, who is the contact of a positive patient from Dhakauli.

Of the 36 cases, 10 remain active.

Panchkula’s first positive case was reported on March 21 when a 38-year-old salon worker living in Kharak Mangoli village came in contact with Chandigarh’s first coronavirus patient.

She was discharged from hospital on April 11 after recovery.

From March 21 to May 21, the district recorded 26 cases after which it had zero cases till June 3, when a resident of Sector 12A tested positive following a Delhi visit. A day later, his 19-year-old son who had accompanied him on the trip was also found infected.

From June 3 to June 8, 10 new cases were reported in the district.

All patients with travel history

“We have seen a sudden surge in Corona positive cases in the district. But all of these patients have a travel history. Someone returned from Delhi, some from Maharastra, Kolkata or other states,” said Dr Jasjeet Kaur, civil surgeon, Panchkula.

On June 6, five new cases were reported, of which four had returned from Maharashtra and one from Kolkata. A day after, on June 7, a Sector 20 resident working in the local district courts tested positive. According to health officials, he went to Delhi on May 15 and returned on May 31, after which he was examined at the Civil Hospital, Sector 6.

“Most of the cases were identified during screening of people returning from other states, but some themselves reported at the hospital,” Kaur said.

Only aggressive sampling was the way out. “Earlier we were not taking samples of people returning from the four states, but from now each person coming in from Delhi, Maharashtra , Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, will be sampled,” Kaur added.

Containment zones

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner, Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, has declared certain areas as containment zones. It includes street number 1120/4 to 1185/3 of Friends Colony in Kalka; house number 525 and 786 to 513/1 of Ice Factory Street in Abdulpur, Pinjore ; and Group Housing Society, Block E – 13 to 79 of Sector 20 in Panchkula .