63 deaths, 2,526 fresh Covid cases in state

AMRITSAR/LUDHIANA/PATIALA/ BATHINDA/JALANDHAR : Punjab on Friday reported 63 Covid-related fatalities, taking the death toll to 2,212. The state also witnessed the highest single-day spike of 2,526 cases, pushing infection tally to 74,616, according to a media bulletin released by the state government.

The previous record in a day was on Thursday when the state reported 2,464 cases. A day earlier on Wednesday, Punjab logged 2,137 cases.

Ludhiana topped the chart with 12 deaths, followed by eight in Jalandhar, seven each in Bathinda and Patiala, five in Hoshiarpur, four each in Tarn Taran and Sangrur, three each in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Muktsar and one each in Faridkot, Mohali, Moga and Ferozepur, according to the bulletin.

Jalandhar reported 326 cases, highest so far, followed by Patiala 315, Mohali 262, Gurdaspur 237, Ludhiana 186, Amritsar 181, Kapurthala 166, Hoshiarpur 161, Bathinda 116 and Ferozepur 72, the bulletin said.

Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Navdeep Singh also tested positive for the virus on Friday. He was suffering from cough and fever after which he was tested.

The civil surgeon has been isolated at his home and the staff members of the district health department and administration were also tested.

Amritsar deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh, additional deputy commissioner Himanshu Agarwal, Amritsar municipal corporation commissioner Komal Mittal tested negative for the virus.

Also, 1,402 patients were discharged after recovering from infection. So far 53,308 people have recovered from the disease, the bulletin said. There are 19,096 active Covid-19 cases in the state as of now, according to the bulletin.