Need to scale down domestic flights to contain Covid-19: Balbir Sidhu

He said that most cases reported in Punjab have a travel history from other states and countries

Punjab health and family welfare minister Balbir Sidhu said there is a need to reduce number of domestic flights, especially from Mumbai and Ahmedabad, to contain further spread Covid-19 in state.

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Presiding over a review meeting of the health department, he said that most cases reported in Punjab have a travel history from other states and countries. So, to prevent community spread, there is need to put focus on passengers, especially those coming in from high risk states and countries, he added.

He plans to discuss this issue with CM Captain Amarinder Singh in the cabinet meeting to be held on Saturday. “It’s on record that only 151 positive persons in state do not have any travel history. Of the 99.9% contact tracing, 1,476 persons (roughly 8%) have been found positive for the virus.

He directed officials to ensure maximum sampling of passengers to trace affected persons. He said there are 40 covid-related deaths so far, occurring mostly in patients over 50 years, almost all afflicted with serious underlying illness such as kidney disease, cancer, HIV, diabetes, and high blood pressure.