Punjab extends COVID-19 curbs till July 10 amid Delta Plus fears, allows bars and pubs to reopen from July 1

Punjab had on Monday recorded 271 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its infection tally to 5,95,136 while 18 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 16,011, according to a medical bulletin.

NEW DELHI: The Punjab government on Tuesday extended the COVID-19 curbs till July 10 as more cases of the deadly Delta plus variant were reported across the state.

However, the Capt. Amarinder Singh government also announced certain relaxations, including the opening of bars, pubs and 'ahatas' at 50% capacity, beginning July 1

“With cases of Delhi Plus variant coming to light, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered the extension of COVID restrictions till July 10, with certain more relaxations, including the opening of bars, pubs and 'ahatas' at 50% capacity, beginning July 1,” a statement issued by the Punjab Chief Minister's Office said.  

The Central Government had on Friday informed that 50 cases of Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 have been recorded across 11 states of India, adding that the maximum number of such cases were in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, Punjab on Monday recorded 271 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its infection tally to 5,95,136 while 18 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 16,011, according to a medical bulletin.

Ludhiana reported 35 fresh cases, followed by 26 in Jalandhar and 21 in Hoshiarpur, the bulletin stated. The latest deaths were reported from Barnala, Bathinda and Faridkot, among other districts, it said.

There are 3,639 active COVID-19 cases in Punjab. While 114 critical patients are on ventilator support, 381 critical patients and 1,560 others are on oxygen support, the bulletin said.

The state's positivity rate stands at 0.67 per cent. As many as 614 more coronavirus patients recovered from the infection the previous day, taking the total number of cured people to 5,75,486, it said.

So far, 1,07,95,548 samples have been collected for testing in the state, it added. Meanwhile, Chandigarh's COVID-19 caseload increased to 61,632 with eight fresh infections, according to the medical bulletin.

No fresh deaths were reported in the union territory. The death toll stands at 807. There are 181 active COVID-19 cases in Chandigarh, the bulletin stated.

A total of 60,644 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the disease, with 30 discharged from hospitals the previous day, it said. So far, 5,64,021 samples have been taken for testing. Of these, 5,01,131 samples have tested negative while reports of 11 are awaited, it said.