A total of 24.19% of Punjab’s population has been infected by COVID-19, according to the second sero-survey conducted in 12 districts of the State, Hussan Lal, State Health Secretary, said on Friday.
Mr. Lal, sharing the findings of the survey, which was conducted in randomly selected districts and populations, informed a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh that a total of 4,678 participants were interviewed and their blood samples collected. “Of these, 1,201 tested IgG reactive, of which only 4.03% were symptomatic and 95.9% were asymptomatic,” he said, according to a government statement.
He said urban areas showed a positivity rate of 30.5%, while rural areas reported 21% positivity. “Ludhiana, with 54.6% total positivity and 71.7% urban positivity, was found to be the worst hit, followed by Ferozepur, Jalandhar and SAS Nagar (Mohali). Female positivity was found to be higher in both urban and rural areas. Each district was assigned the task of completing a sample size of 400, with 200 from rural areas and 200 from urban areas,” Mr. Lal said.
The Chief Minister directed the Health Department to incorporate the results of the second sero-survey in the State’s strategy for the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, so that the high-risk population is covered first.
The statement said that besides one State-level vaccine store, 22 district vaccine stores and 127 block-level vaccine stores are being prepared for the roll-out of the vaccine in Punjab, which will also have 570 cold chain points. “Besides one walk-in freezer at Ferozepur, the government of India has decided to provide one more at Chandigarh. In addition, the State will have one walk-in cooler each at Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Ferozepur, with more to be received from the Centre. In addition, the State has 1,165 Ice Lined Refrigerators and 1,079 Deep Freezers,” it added.
Meanwhile, amid complaints of mass violations of COVID-19 curbs at weddings and parties, the CM ordered restrictions limiting indoor gatherings to 100 persons and outdoor gatherings to 250 persons, with the extension of night curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in all cities and towns, till January 1, 2021. The night curfew was earlier imposed from December 1 to December 15.
