The COVID-19 recovery rate of Punjab has risen to 90 per cent with just 170 active cases and a doubling period of 100 days, according to the state health authorities. The national doubling period of COVID-19 cases is 14 days.
Four districts—Mohali, Sangrur, Firozpur and Moga—have also been declared COVID-free.
While the state health machinery pats its back, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh took to social media, urging people to follow all precautions to ensure that the hard work of health officials and those involved in containing the spread of the virus does not go in vain.
“We have given it a tough fight but the war against corona (virus) is still pending. We should be celebrating the recovery, but not throw caution to the wind. It will defeat our hard work in the last two months,” the chief minister said.
COVID-19 hotspots like Mohali, which once had the maximum number of cases in the state, has been declared free of the coronavirus infection, with no active cases at the moment. In Mohali, 105 cases were reported, out of which three died and 102 recovered and have been successfully discharged. However, health officials have warned people against assuming that the virus has been fully contained and eradicated from the district.
Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that although no cases of COVID-19 has recently been reported in these districts for now, the fight against the pandemic is not over. Sidhu said that the state government has managed to contain the spread of the deadly disease to a great extent, but the fight will continue till a specific treatment for the disease is available.
Civil Surgeon Dr Manjeet Singh has issued an appeal asking people to be extra cautious. “The curfew has been lifted, there are many relaxations and district is corona-free as of now. However, if necessary precautions are not taken, it may strike again and situation could be worse this time,” he said.
On Thursday, Punjab registered 23 fresh cases taking the total tally to 2,028. The key area of concern for the health authorities is COVID-19 positive status of four pregnant women in Gurdaspur district. All four are residents of Batala and have kept health authorities on their toes as they continue looking for any prospective transmission in clinics or hospitals that the women were being treated.
