Punjab reports new single-day high, adds over 2,000 more coronavirus cases to tally

Chandigarh
Punjab reported 2,110 new coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours, the state’s COVID bulletin said on Monday—the biggest single-day spike in cases the state has seen yet.

The development takes Punjab’s case tally to 65,583.

Nine of Punjab’s 22 districts reported infections in triple digits on Monday, the bulletin showed.

Ludhiana continues to remain one of Punjab’s major cause for worry, reporting 338 new infections on Monday—the highest of any district on the state. Jalandhar (210), Patiala (137), SAS Nagar (176), Amritsar (157), Bathinda (106), Gurdaspur (128), Ropar (115) and Muktsar (126) all reported alarming number of infections.

Sangrur (45), Ferozepur (46), Moga (26), Hoshiarpur (86), Pathankot (96), Barnala (25), Fatehgarh Sahib (25), Kapurthala (74), Faridkot (59), Tarn Taran (21), Fazilka (60), SBS Nagar (23), and Mansa (31) also reported new cases.

The state also reported 61 deaths, taking the state’s death toll to 1,923. Seventeen districts reported fatalities, with SAS Nagar leading the list at 15 and Ludhiana following close behind with 10.

Amritsar (2), Barnala (1), Bathinda (1), Faridkot (1), Fatehgarh Sahib (2), Gurdaspur (1), Hoshiarpur (4), Jalandhar (3), Kapurthala (1), Muktsar (1), SBS Nagar (3), Moga (5), Patiala (7), Ropar (3) and Tarn Taran (1) all reported deaths.

Punjab been showing a significant spike in cases since last month—especially since August 6, when the state first began reporting infections in 1000s. The state added 34,136 new coronavirus cases between August 6 and 31—an alarming 61 per cent of the state’s total cases.

The state has been seeing a steady rise in cases since the beginning of September as well—the state has already added 11,591 new cases and 470 deaths to its tally in less than a week since September 1. For comparison, the state had added 5,891 new cases until August 7.

Punjab government said last month that it expected the state to breach one lakh coronavirus cases this month, with 3,000 deaths. Sixteen of Punjab’s 22 districts have over 1,500 cases.

Punjab’s alarming number of cases has prompted the central government to send health teams for assistance.

Five districts—Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Amritsar and SAS Nagar—account for 56 per cent of Punjab’s cases and 64 per cent of its fatalities.