As many as 740 Covid-19 patients were discharged from various hospitals across the state and a total 49,027 tests were conducted on the day. (Image used for representational purpose only)
CHANDIGARH: Punjab registered 15 Covid-19 deaths and 308 positive cases on Saturday. The total number of deaths from the deadly virus in the state has now reached 15,979 and the total number of positive cases touched 5,94,586.
The state also recorded seven new cases of Mucormycosis or black fungus on Saturday. This has taken the total number of such cases in the state till date to 561, besides total 51 deaths from it.
As many as 740 Covid-19 patients were discharged from various hospitals across the state and a total 49,027 tests were conducted on the day.
A protest over shortage of oxygen cylinders, against the Congress government in Punjab and BJP government at Centre, in Amritsar
CHANDIGARH: Faced by a shortage of Covid vaccines, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday deferred Phase III of vaccination for the 18-45 age group, which was slated to begin on May 1. He also disclosed that vaccination at private health facilities will remain suspended from Saturday. Amarinder on Friday announced that due to non-availability of vaccine, Phase III of vaccination of the 18-45 age group cannot be started as scheduled.
He said as the balance of unutilised vaccines had to be returned to the Centre by all private health facilities by Friday evening, these facilities would have no vaccines to administer from Saturday for 45+ population, while they could not vaccinate 18-45 age group as they had no supplies for the same, said Amarinder.
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar
CHANDIGARH: A preliminary wrong assessment of the requirement for oxygen, coupled with a second Covid-19 wave, disturbed Haryana’s calculations and left it ill-prepared to deal with the emergent situation in the state.
Lack of homework, before the surge forced the health department top brass, made the chief minister’s office and the health work extra to take the state’s oxygen allocation to 232 metric tonnes on Wednesday. From the first allocation, Haryana had got no share. From the second, it could get 64 MT.
On April 24, the reallocation was 164 MT. As the crisis continued, the government formed a four-member committee led by an officer of the level of director general of health services. This team met on Sunday and concluded that the state will need 300 MT oxygen. Additional chief secretary (health) Rajeev Arora, CM Manohar Lal Khattar and health minister Anil Vij then pushed the Union government.