Punjab CM Amarinder Singh sets target of conducting 6000 COVID-19 tests per day by mid-May

On Saturday, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh asked the state Health Department to ramp up COVID-19 testing for ensuring 6,000 tests per day by mid-May instead of the original target of 5,800 tests by May-end. This assumes significance in the wake of nearly 292 persons returning from Maharashtra testing positive for the novel coronavirus. He was addressing a virtual Cabinet meeting with his Council of Ministers. Stressing the need to be prepared for the worst, Singh directed the Chief Secretary to coordinate with the Centre to scale up the testing capacity as a huge number of Punjab residents are expected to return in the coming weeks. 

Referring to many of the Nanded Gurudwara pilgrims testing positive for COVID-19, he maintained that Punjab could not rely on tests done in other states. He also urged the opposition to stop playing politics over such a grave issue. The Punjab CM also revealed that he had spoken to the Baba Farid University's Vice-Chancellor to explore the feasibility of setting up a testing facility in Jalandhar, for which the state government was ready to sanction an immediate grant of Rs.1 crore. Currently, there are 772 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Punjab out of which 112 persons have recovered while 20 casualties have been reported.

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The COVID-19 crisis

On Friday, the Central government announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 17. The new guidelines for the post-May 3 lockdown period grant more relaxations for Red zones, Orange zones, and Green zones. Educational institutions, hospitality services, malls, gyms, shopping malls, religious places of worship, gatherings, etc. shall remain prohibited in all the zones. The movement of individuals for all non-essential activities between 7 pm and 7 am will not be allowed. Moreover, persons above the age of 65, persons having comorbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 have been directed to stay at home. 

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