1,555 new COVID cases take Punjab’s number to just under 50,000; 51 die

Chandigarh

Punjab reported 1,555 new COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths on Friday in a span of 24 hours, the state’s COVID bulletin shows.

The state’s COVID-19 tally stands at 49,378 cases with 1309 deaths.

Friday’s bulletin showed Jalandhar had the highest number of cases at 211. Gurdaspur (182), Ludhiana (140), Patiala (109), Faridkot (115), all had cases in triple digits.

Amritsar (81), SAS Nagar (85), Sangrur (25), Bathinda (18), Ferozepur (84), Moga (54), Hoshiarpur (85), Pathankot (56), Barnala (40), Fatehgarh Sahib (65), Kapurthala (46), Faridkot (115), Tarn Taran (2), Ropar (21), Fazilka (37), SBS (8), Muktsar (61), and Mansa (30) all reported new cases.

Amritsar accounted for 12 of 51 deaths—the most deaths of any district on Friday. Ludhiana came a close second with 11.

Patiala (5), Sangrur (2), Tarn Taran (2), Barnala (1), Bathinda (1), Fazilka (2), Fatehgarh Sahib (2), Gurdaspur (2), Hoshiarpur (1), Jalandhar (5), Kapurthala (1), Mansa (2), SAS Nagar (1), and SBS Nagar (1) all reported deaths.

District-wise break-up of Punjab’s cases is as follows: Ludhiana (10,237), Jalandhar (6,030), Patiala (5,719), Amritsar (2,594), SAS Nagar (3,333), Sangrur (2089), Bathinda (2070), Gurdaspur (2195), Ferozepur (1630), Moga (1357), Hoshiarpur (1409), Pathankot (1108), Barnala (1004), Fatehgarh Sahib (1042), Tarn Taran (727), Ropar (791), Fazilka (777), SBS Nagar (673), Muktsar (784) and Mansa (517).

Death toll stands thus: Ludhiana (363), Jalandhar (148), Patiala (144), Amritsar (149), SAS Nagar (71), Sangrur (83), Bathinda (20), Gurdaspur (49), Ferozepur (23), Moga (16), Hoshiarpur (36), Pathankot (22), Barnala (19), Fatehgarh Sahib (23), Tarn Taran (32), Ropar (11), Fazilka (10), SBS Nagar (18), Muktsar (8) and Mansa (12).

Punjab’s been recording a consistent rise throughout August, especially since August 6, when the state began reporting over 1000 infections a day. Punjab’s numbers have risen over 200 per cent in August from 16,119 at the end of July. Almost 60 per cent of the state’s total 49.378 cases were recorded in August alone.

Punjab’s death toll has also risen 238 per cent this month, from 386 deaths at the end of July.

Sixteen of Punjab’s 22 districts now have over 1,000 cases. Ludhiana alone accounts for over 20 per cent of the state’s total cases.

Punjab government expects COVID-19 cases to peak in September. The state government’s own projections estimate that over a lakh cases will be recorded by the end of September.

Just over a quarter of the state’s total cases are still active.