Punjab to enforce lockdown till March 31 amid Coronavirus threat

Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government has announced to enforce a complete lockdown in the state until March 31, amid the Coronavirus outbreak. Punjab has so far reported 14 cases of coronavirus. Coronavirus cases in India rose to 324 on Sunday after fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry said. 

"Punjab government will enforce lockdown in the entire state till March 31, a senior official told PTI in Chandigarh. Eleven more persons tested positive for coronavirus in Punjab on Saturday, taking the total number of confirmed cases of the infection to 14 in the state.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a fiscal package to combat the coronavirus crisis and permission to get tests done at private hospitals and labs in the state. He expressed grave concern over the escalating COVID-19 crisis while taking part in the deliberations during a video conference convened by the prime minister with all the CMs to review the situation, a government release said.

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Singh said there was an urgent need to scale up the testing for coronavirus and hence, the Centre should immediately allow reputed private medical colleges and super-specialty hospitals. He also suggested that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) should be allowed to test close contacts of confirmed cases even without symptoms. The chief minister also requested the PM to immediately extend the travel ban on international flights for two weeks instead of one to prevent the continued entry of NRIs into Punjab and to enable the government to track and test all those who had already come in.

Coronavirus India 

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 63, including three foreigners, followed by Kerala at 52 including seven foreign nationals. Delhi has reported 27 positive cases, which include one foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 25 cases, including one foreigner.

Telangana has reported 21 cases, including 11 foreigners. Rajasthan has reported 24 cases, including two foreigners. In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include 14 foreigners. Karnataka has 20 coronavirus patients. Punjab and Ladakh have 13 cases each. Gujarat has 14 cases while Tamil Nadu has 6 cases which include 2 foreigners. Chandigarh has five cases. Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and West Bengal reported four cases each. Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand have reported three cases each. Odisha and Himachal Pradesh reported 2 cases each. Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have reported one case each. 

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(With PTI inputs)