In 2nd covid wave, 25% of deaths reported from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur
For the past two months, the two Doaba districts of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur have reported around 25% of Punjab’s 2,716 deaths due to covid-19, data with the state health department shows. From Feb 26 to April 26, Jalandhar recorded 351 deaths, while Hoshiarpur reported 338 deaths for a total of 689. Amritsar saw 303 deaths and Ludhiana 283. After a quick analysis of this data, the Punjab health department has sent a team to Hoshiarpur to study the other contributing causes of these deaths, as the district has a relatively low population. Punjab reported 1,64,362 new positive cases, with 43,348 (25%) cases coming from Doaba region.
Overall, Jalandhar has seen 1,054 deaths; Hoshiarpur (704); Amritsar (896); Patiala (735), while Ludhiana has 1,309 highest in the state till April 26. From March 25-April 26, Amritsar has recorded the most deaths at 245; Hoshiarpur (222); Ludhiana (211); Patiala (178) and Jalandhar 176.
Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have also doubled their case count since February. The health department believes that UK strain of Covid-19 has led to the steep rise in active cases in Punjab.
Over 80% of samples of Covid positive people sent for genome sequencing to the Pune laboratory in March were found having the UK strain. In Jalandhar, the UK strain had mainly hit Phillaur and Nurmahal towns that reported a high number of cases. In Hoshiarpur, 31 cases of the UK strain were detected.