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Ludhiana’s single-day count crosses 150-mark after 5 months
With 152 fresh cases and two more deaths in the last 24 hours, deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma on Thursday announced a night curfew for the district from Friday
With 152 fresh cases and two more deaths in the last 24 hours, deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma on Thursday announced a night curfew for the district from Friday. The curfew will be effective from 11pm to 5am, starting March 12.
However, police, army personnel, government employees, essential service providers and medical professionals among others will be exempted from the purview of these orders. Inter-district and inter-state movement on highways will also be exempted from the purview of these orders.
It is after five months that the single-day count has crossed the 150-mark.
On October 5, the district had recorded 160 cases following which the count had remained well below 150.
It is for the sixth time in the last 11 days that the city has witnessed over 100 cases in a day. As many as 108 residents of the district had tested positive on March 7, followed by 146 on March 6, 105 on March 5, 106 on March 4 and 115 on March 2.
The latest Covid fatalities include a 73-year-old male from Khanna and a 65-year-old female from Haibowal Kalan. The district’s toll has now gone up to 1,046 while the active cases stand at 915.
Six teachers, four students positive
Among the 152 new cases, four are teachers and four are students. One teacher each from DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, Shivalik Doon School, Partap Nagar, Government Senior Secondary School, Bhundari, and GM School, Kot Mangal Singh area, have tested positive. The infected students include three from Government Senior Secondary School, Noorpur Bet, and one from Government Multipurpose School.
Besides, two healthcare workers have also tested positive.
Vaccine update
Meanwhile, as many as 2, 036 persons received the Covid vaccine shots on Thursday. These include 1,089 senior citizens and 439 people aged between 45 and 60, having co-morbidities. As many as 184 healthcare workers got the first dose of the vaccine while 105 received the second dose. Similarly, 83 frontline workers received the first dose and another 136 turned up for the second dose.
159 students, 107 staff members infected since Jan
As many as 159 students and 107 staff members in over 120 educational institutions of the district have tested positive for Covid-19 since January, a report released by the health department shows.
These include around 108 schools and 16 colleges, including Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. Besides, students of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences (GADVASU) and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have also tested positive.
The health department said that they have conducted 11, 856 tests in educational institutions till March 10.
The data comes close on the heels of Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) sending a report to the state health department, stating that schools are colleges are becoming hotspots of the infections.
The report had also stated that youngsters carry a high viral load but mild symptoms, and they can put the elderly at risk.
Civil surgeon Dr Kiran Ahluwalia, who is the nodal officer of the Covid vaccination drive in the district, said, “It is important that Covid safety protocols are followed strictly. In the majority of the cases, it has been observed that children sat in close proximity with each other students in schools, thus catching the infection,” said Dr Ahluwalia.
She said that the health department is working in close coordination with the education department, “We are designing programmes to spread awareness among children about social distancing, wearing of mask, frequent hand washing in order to curtail the spread of infection,” said Kiran Ahluwali.
