Panchkula records first Covid fatality, Mohali surpasses Chandigarh death toll

Two PGIMER doctors and wife of Chandigarh BJP chief are among 80 people who tested positive across tricity

With the death of a 75-year-old woman from Shahpur, Panchkula district reported its first fatality related to Covid-19 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a 65-year-old man from Kharar succumbed to the disease at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), becoming Mohali district’s fourteenth Covid fatality. The district has now surpassed Chandigarh’s death toll, which stands at 13.

The two deaths were reported on the day Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula recorded 29, 28 and 23 fresh cases respectively, in yet another big single day-spike of 80 cases in the tricity. Those tested positive include two doctors of the PGIMER.

The elderly Panchkula woman, who died on Saturday, was on medication for tuberculosis and was admitted to the local civil hospital three days ago with Covid-like symptoms.

“Her lungs were damaged, suffering from pneumonia and breathlessness. After three days of treatment at the civil hospital, she was shifted to a private hospital by her family, where she died in the evening,” stated a release.

The district had reported a Covid death on July 2 as well, though 20 days later the administration claimed the patient’s death audit report termed it a non-Covid fatality.

Among the 23 fresh cases in the district, a PGIMER doctor staying in Panchkula and a security guard posted at the MRI and CT scan centre of the civil hospital in Sector 6 have tested positive.

The other patients include three senior citizens. The cases are spread across Sectors 8, 10, 12, 21 and 25 in the city besides Surajpur, Rai Purani, Nanakpur, Kalka and Pinjore.

With this, the total number of cases in Panchkula district has climbed to 413, with 232 still active. As many as 180 people have been cured so far.

Meanwhile, the number of positive cases has reached 690 in the neighbouring Mohali district, with 241 still active. As many as 435 have recovered, 14 of whom were discharged on Saturday and included a 76-year-old man from Zirakpur.

The 65-year-old man who became the fourteenth fatality had comorbidities, said Mohali civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh, adding that he was tested positive for Covid-19 after being admitted to the PGIMER on July 22.

Of the 28 fresh cases reported on Saturday, nine are from Mohali city, six from Kharar town and the remaining scattered across the district.

Among the Kharar residents, a man and woman, both aged 62 and unrelated, have tested positive. The cases are spread across Phases 2, 5, 7,10 in Mohali city and include three senior citizens.

29 FRESH CASES IN UT

The wife of Bharatiya Janata Party’s local president, a 29-year-old resident doctor of PGIMER, husband of a UT estate office employee and a person who mans a kiosk at Elante Mall are among 29 fresh cases reported in Chandigarh, which took the city’s tally to 852 on Saturday.

While 284 cases are still active, as many as 555 people have been cured so far.

The new cases have been reported from Sectors 3, 7, 18, 24, 28, 30, 32, 37, 43, 44 and 45 besides Dhanas, Manimajra, Ram Darbar, Mauli Jagran and Bapu Dham Colony.

Contact tracing of the UT estate office staffer’s husband has led to self-isolation of five other employees besides sanitisation of the premises, said officials.

After an infection surfaced at Elante Mall, its management said in a release: “A third-party employee manning a kiosk at Elante Mall tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. He last visited the mall on July 19, when his Aarogya Setu app was checked and his body temperature was normal.We have asked all the staff manning the kiosk to be self-quarantined immediately and get themselves tested at the hospital. They will have to provide a medical certificate before resuming duty.”

Meanwhile, after his wife testes positive, Chandigarh BJP chief Arun Sood said: “I,too, had a few symptoms, but was tested negative. Other family members have also tested negative. We are under quarantine.”