With 15 more fatalities, the Covid-19 toll touched 522 in Ludhiana district on Tuesday.
The patient tally crossed the 12,000 mark to reach 12,302 with the addition of 304 fresh infections till Tuesday evening.
The district now has 1,883 active cases, while 9,894 people have recovered so far.
Health department officials say Ludhiana’s recovery rate is 80.43%. Among those who tested positive for Covid-19 were 94 patients with symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI), 40 contacts of infected patients and 82 people who were referred from outpatient departments (OPDs). The new patients included five healthcare workers and a policeman.
Those who lost their lives included an 85-year-old man from Rishi Nagar; a 57-year-old man from Sahnewal; a 55-year-old man from Jatani village; a 78-year-old man from Dugri Phase 2; a 48- year-old man from Cheema Chowk village; a 64- year-old man from Manakwal; an 85-year-old man from Haibowal Kalan; a 58-year-old man from BRS Nagar; an 86-year-old man from Tagore Nagar; an 82-year-old man from Jagraon; a 67-year-old man from Khanna; a 68-year-old man from Gaushala road; a 70-year-old woman from Guru Nanak Colony, a 49-year-old woman from Jamalpur, and another woman aged 50 from Civil Lines.
17 employees of agri dept test positive
{{/usCountry}}17 employees of agri dept test positive
{{/usCountry}}As many as 17 employees of the agriculture department also tested positive. Confirming the development, chief agricultural officer Narinder Singh Benipal said tests of at least 76 employees working in the department were conducted after two staffers were found infected.
He said so far, 17 employees have tested positive. The employees, majority of them working in the common room, have been isolated. The health department, he said, is testing their family members, relatives and close contacts.
Benipal said the agriculture department will remain open for farmers. The premises have been sanitised.