Patiala (Punjab) [India], May 28 : Two active COVID-19 cases were reported in Punjab on Wednesday, according to Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh. One patient is from Yamunanagar, and the other is from Ambala. Both are undergoing treatment.
Earlier, a 40-year-old patient on Wednesday succumbed to the COVID-19 virus at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32 in Chandigarh, said an official.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Singh said, "This is the first patient who was admitted to Sector 32 after being referred from Ludhiana. There are two other patients in the state. One patient is in Fortis Hospital, who is from Yamunanagar, another is in Ferozepur, who hails from Ambala and works in Gurugram. He had come to his relatives' house..."
Giving details about the patient who died, Singh said, "The patient who has died had comorbidities in addition to being COVID positive... He was also suffering from Hepatitis B".
The Minister added that the state government is in touch the Union government and following WHO guidelines.
"I have reviewed the medical facilities in the Ludhiana district, and 200 beds have been prepared in the medical college... People with comorbidities need to take precautions, normal people can go about without any worry... We are in touch with the centre and are also following WHO guidelines..." the Health Minister told ANI.
Earlier today, Chandigarh GMCH Medical Superintendent GP Thami confirmed the patient's death, stating that the patient was referred from Ludhiana and was hospitalised two days ago with severe respiratory issues. The patient tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and succumbed to the illness in the early hours of Wednesday.
When asked about the hospital's preparedness, the official stated that they have made an isolation ward.
"Yesterday, a patient came. He was diagnosed with COVID. Today, he died at around 4 in the morning...He was 40 years old and belonged to Firozabad, UP. He was suffering from some respiratory problem and fever, then he was referred here from Ludhiana... We have made an isolation ward. We suspect more people to come here suffering from COVID...The variant has not been identified yet...Right now, it is preliminary," Thami said.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed that while COVID-19 cases were reported again in parts of the country, the current variants in circulation were showing mild symptoms similar to the Omicron strain.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Dr Dangs Lab, Arjun Dang, the rising cases of Covid-19 belonged to the sub-lineage of the Omicron virus.
Dang further stated that in states like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the variants that were named as 'Variants under Monitoring' were of types LF7 and NV181 and were more transmissible.
"We must understand that the current spreading variants are again a sublineage of the Omicron virus. Additionally, in states like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, we have certain other sub-variants that have been named Variants Under Monitoring, and these are basically of two types, LF7 and NV181. Currently, the cases that we are seeing are more transmissible. They can infect people easily, but again, from the severity perspective, till now, we have not seen any severe cases," Dang told ANI.
On Monday, India reported 1,009 active COVID-19 cases in the country on Monday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. As per the Health Ministry, India's COVID-19 update showed a total of 1009 active cases, with 752 new cases recently confirmed.
According to the government data, Kerala currently tops the chart with the highest number of active cases at 430. Other states with notable case counts include Maharashtra (209), Delhi (104), Gujarat (83), and Karnataka (47).