Punjab to see Covid peak around April 6, curbs extended till April 10

With UK strain more prevalent in Punjab, CM directs districts to ramp up testing, vaccination in crowded places, jails

Chandigarh

People undergoing a Covid test in Ludhiana. Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has ordered that testing and vaccination be stepped up and sites be opened in busy market areas, bus stands and railway stations. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

As Covid cases and deaths continue to escalate with the UK strain emerging as the most prevalent in the state, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered the extension of curbs till April 10, while directing the health department to increase the number of vaccination sites to target the priority categories on an urgent basis.

Reviewing the Covid situation with chief secretary Vini Mahajan and other top officials, the chief minister said all restrictions that were in place till March 31 will now remain in force till April 10, after which they will be reviewed again.

44 women in Nabha jail test positive

He ordered the launch of a vaccination drive in prisons in the wake of 44 women in Patiala’s Nabha Open Jail testing positive for coronavirus.

Testing and vaccination will be organised in busy market areas, the chief minister said, asking deputy commissioners and civil surgeons to identify places where mobile Covid vaccination centres can be set up, such as police lines, colleges and universities, bigger industrial units, bus stands, and railway stations, Punjab Roadways bus depots and marketplaces.

The latest data shows the UK strain of the virus to be the most prevalent in the state. While 326 of the 401 Covid positive samples sent initially to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for genome sequencing were found positive for the UK variant, subsequently of the 95 samples sent to Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) for genome sequencing, 85 were found to be positive for the same.

The principal secretary, health, shared projections presented by Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, showing a steep rise in the number of cases and peak around April 6. The number would be decreasing by mid or late May, according to estimates, which suggest that Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala are expected to contribute more cases and positivity is likely to be high in the younger population of 40 years or less.

Over 90,000 challaned and tested for Covid

State police chief Dinkar Gupta said since the last meeting when the decision to challan Covid protocol offenders along with RT-PCR testing was taken, 90,360 people had been challaned and tested for Covid.

He requested for a special vaccination drive in the police lines.

Health workers to undergo weekly test if not vaccinated

All districts have been advised to motivate healthcare workers and frontline workers to get themselves vaccinated and those who do not get vaccinated, should be strictly directed to undergo Covid testing every week to ensure that they do not get infected and thereby spread infection to others, the chief secretary said after the virtual meeting.

Dr KK Talwar, health adviser to the Punjab government, has suggested routine non-Covid treatment in some of the selected private hospitals be deferred by two to four weeks, and more ambulances be made available to district hospitals where there are no medical colleges.

The chief minister was assured that the health department is ready to increase RT-PCR testing to 35,000 tests per day.