Tyre factory employee’s son, RPF jawan test +ve, Ludhiana’s tally now at 177

So far, 19 persons having connection with the tyre factory, which include 10 of it employees, have tested positive for the virus; while the count of RPF men found positive is 48, they are not included in the district’s tally as they are residents of Delhi and have come here on deployment.

Two fresh cases were detected in Ludhiana on Wednesday. While one is a 27-year-old man, who is the son of 63-year-old the tyre factory unit manager who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19, the other is a 30-year-old railway protection force (RPF) personnel who came from Delhi. As Punjab is not including non-residents of the state its tally, only the 27-year-old man’s case has been added to the district tally, which now stands at 177.

A health department official carrying out the thermal screening of a passenger at the Ludhiana bus stand on Wednesday. The district currently has 45 active cases. (Representative image) (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The 27-year-old’s father was found to be infected on May 7, while his mother and youngster brother tested positive the next day. So far, 19 persons having connection with the tyre factory, which includes 10 of it employees, have tested positive for the virus.

Sharing details about the fresh cases, civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said the RPF jawan had tested negative on May 11, but he was symptomatic. “So we took another sample, which came out positive today. He is now in the isolation ward of the civil hospital,” stated Dr Bagga. As of now, the number of infected RPF men stands at 48. Besides, two railway protection special force men are also Covid positive.

Meanwhile, the health department is still groping in the dark to locate the two men, aged 18 and 22, who had visited the flu corner of the civil hospital four days ago. After they tested positive, the health staff tried contacting them but found that their details, including phone numbers, were incorrect. Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said the men had stated that they lived in Prem Vihar Street No 1 and Shahi Bagh Colony Street No 11. He said that efforts were on to locate them.

Dr Bagga said till date, a total of 5,214 samples have been tested, out of which reports of 4,578 came out negative. Of the total 177 positive cases in the district, 125 have been cured and seven have died. There are currently 45 active cases in the district.