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State reports 217 Covid deaths, 6,867 new cases
It is for the second consecutive day that the single-day recoveries (8,125) surpassed the number of new infections (6,867)
Punjab on Saturday registered another dip in positive cases with 6,867 fresh infections as against 8,068 on Friday. The state reported 217 more coronavirus fatalities, taking the death toll to 11,693.
So far, 4,90,755 people have been infected with the virus. It is for the second consecutive day that the single-day recoveries (8,125) surpassed the number of new infections (6,867). The state’s positivity rate also dropped from 11.29% on Friday to 9.48%.
Twenty-six deaths were reported from Amritsar, 24 from Bathinda, 20 from Fazilka, 19 from Patiala and 18 from Ludhiana in the past 24 hours, the bulletin said.
Ludhiana reported the maximum 1,132 cases, followed by 573 in Jalandhar, 536 in Patiala, 535 in Mohali and 515 in Bathinda. Meanwhile, 8,125 people recovered from the infection in the state. The number of active cases also dropped from 79,359 on Friday to 77,789, the bulletin said. The state’s positivity rate also dropped from 11.29 per cent on Friday to 9.48 per cent. With 8,125 recoveries, the number of cured persons reached 4,01,273, the bulletin said.
There are 429 critical patients on ventilator while 9,902 are on oxygen support, it said. A total of 81,40,404 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state.
Over 40% deaths in 45 days
Over 40% of the total Covid-19-related fatalities in Punjab took place in the last 45 days, indicating the severity of the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Punjab had reported a total of 6,868 deaths due to the infection as on March 31. The death toll rose to 11,693 as on May 15, showing 4,826 more people succumbing to the disease since April 1 this year, the state health department’s data revealed.
The health officials had earlier pointed out that the delay in approaching hospitals for treatment by patients with severe symptoms and comorbidities were the main reasons behind fatalities.
Ludhiana is one of the worst-affected districts in Punjab as it has registered 538 deaths between April 1 and May 14, 2021, as per the data.
The case fatality rate in rural areas is 2.6% as against 0.8% in urban areas, officials said.
