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Four test positive for Covid in Ludhiana, samples sent for genome sequencing
District epidemiologist Dr Ramesh Bhagat said none of the four persons testing positive for Covid were NRIs, nor they had any history of international travel
Amid the threat of Omicron variant, four fresh cases of Covid were detected in the Ludhiana district on Thursday.
District epidemiologist Dr Ramesh Bhagat said none of the four persons testing positive were NRIs, nor they had any history of international travel.
They have been quarantined and their samples sent for genome sequencing, he added.
In the wake of the Union health ministry’s advisory on the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, the Punjab health department has issued guidelines asking frequent international travellers and NRIs visiting the state to undergo mandatory coronavirus tests.
If tested positive, the passengers will have to go through a genome sequencing test to ensure that they are not suffering from the new virus variant, the advisory says.
A letter in this regard was issued wherein the health department asked all civil surgeons, vice-chancellors of medical and animal husbandry universities, medical colleges and private testing laboratories to share the data of such patients.
“If any international traveller comes to your institution or laboratory and is found corona positive, a sample should be sent immediately to the Government Medical College, Patiala, for genome-sequencing test,” the letter reads.
Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr SP Singh has also urged residents to get both the doses of vaccine at the earliest and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.
It was on November 28 that the district had logged four Covid cases, while no infection was reported in Ludhiana on Wednesday.
As many as 87,668 people in the district have tested positive so far, of whom 85,540 have successfully defeated the virus. The contagion has claimed 2,110 lives in the district till now.
Meanwhile, four fresh cases of dengue were reported in the district, taking the total tally to 1,804.
