Punjabis welcome to come home for Covid treatment, says CM Amarinder Singh

CM Amarinder Singh said that things were turning bad as “out of 2,986 Covid cases till yesterday, 1,471 had a travel history and 1,515 were local infections which means community spread”.




Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday called for strict checking of entrants from other states and UTs, particularly Delhi, which were witnessing a spike in Covid-19 cases. Amarinder, however, clarified that Punjabis were welcome to come from Delhi for treatment in the state after getting their beds reserved in a medical facility here on the recommendation of a Delhi hospital.

Responding to a question by Delhi-based Punjabi, Rajat Sharma, during his Facebook Live #AskCaptain session, where Sharma mentioned that he was working in Delhi and if he could come back to Punjab to get treated if he got Covid, Amarinder said “Punjabis are welcome to get a bed reserved in a hospital, drive back to Punjab and go straight to the hospital.”

Just a few minutes before that the CM had expressed concern at the massive inflow of people from other parts of the country to the state. Amarinder, during the same session, had pointed out, “On Friday alone 6,000 vehicles entered the state bringing 20,000 people from Delhi and Haryana. We do not know why so many are coming to Punjab. We will find that out. And we are going to make the rules for influx of people more stringent.” He added that Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan had sealed their borders with Punjab.

Meanwhile, two days after Centre said there was no community spread in the country, CM Amarinder Singh said that out of 2,986 cases reported in Punjab till Friday, as many as 1,515 were local cases and indicated community spread of Covid-19.

Amarinder said that things were turning bad as “out of 2,986 Covid cases till yesterday, 1,471 had a travel history and 1,515 were local infections which means community spread”.

The CM, however, did not broach the Centre’s claim that community spread had not started in the country yet. The ICMR had stated on Thursday that its sero-surveys had revealed that there was no community transmission of disease in the country.

Amarinder has indicated community spread not once but several times in the past. When he indicated it for the first time, the Centre had strongly denied it specifically to say that there was no community transmission in India. Amarinder had at that time quoted PGIMER experts to give projections about the infection. The PGI had also stepped in to deny his claim.

But the CM has this time given the total number of cases which have no travel history and are local infections.

The Punjab government will take a decision on conduct of examinations in universities and colleges in the state after June 30, in line with the fresh guidelines expected from Centre.

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