Need to scale down domestic flights to contain Covid-19: Punjab health minister

Presiding over the review meeting of health department, Sidhu said that most of cases reported in Punjab are having the travelling history from other states and countries so as to prevent the community spread level, there is need to put focus on passengers especially coming from high risk states and countries.

To contain the spread of Covid-19 in state as Punjab has registered only 2.8 per cent positive cases among 72,468 samples, Balbir Singh Sidhu said there is need to reduce the domestic flights especially from Mumbai and Ahmedabad where higher numbers of Covid-19 cases have been reported.

Presiding over the review meeting of health department, Sidhu said that most of cases reported in Punjab are having the travelling history from other states and countries so as to prevent the community spread level, there is need to put focus on passengers especially coming from high risk states and countries.

He said that he will discuss this key issue with the Chief Minister in the Cabinet meeting to be held at tomorrow.

The minister said that it was on record, only 151 of 2157 positive persons in the state didn’t have any travel history. Of the 99.9 per cent contact tracing, 1476 persons have been found positive which is about eight percent.

Sidhu said of 40 deaths due to infection so far, most were over 50 years of age and almost all were afflicted with serious underlying illness like end-stage kidney disease and Cancer, HIV besides uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure.