Assignment -
1. Write a report on the recent
situation of Punjab regarding
the Pandemic covid-19.
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
In this file photo, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh during a press conference in Chandigarh. (PTI)
With a huge NRI population, Punjab was watched anxiously for the coronavirus outbreak. Initially, there was panic in the 'NRI belts' like Nawanshahr, where the Covid-19 cases suddenly shot up. But now Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appears to be in control, and he tells Harish Manav that his state has a plan in place to combat the pandemic.
Edited excerpts:
Q: The number of of covid-19 positive cases are still going up in Punajb, how prepared is your government?
A: Yes, the rise in the number of cases continues, though Punjab is still relatively better placed than many other states. It would go up here, as well as around the world, in the coming days before the curve is flattened. Our efforts in handling the situation are two-pronged. The first is medical focused, and the second is preventive. We were the second state, after Kerala, to go for a lockdown, and the first, in fact, to impose a total curfew. And we ensured the curfew was strictly enforced. Interestingly, 80% of the villages in Punjab have gone for self-isolation or sealing, with the people wholeheartedly supporting the government’s measures.
Q: There is a lot of emphasis on testing. Where does Punjab stand in terms of testing?
A: This comes under medical strategy. With only two government hospitals in the state permitted initially to do testing, along with PGI Chandigarh, the pace was slow, though we continued to scale up the tests to over 800 a day even with these minimal facilities. Since then two private labs have been given permission and we have now asked the Centre’s permission to add two Ludhiana government hospitals to the list. We are also awaiting the rapid testing kits to come in, so we can go for mass testing. In the meantime, we have deployed mobile vans in hotspot areas to test. We are also continuously expanding our isolation facilities with equipment and manpower. Retired doctors are on standby to pitch in as and when needed. It is a long and difficult battle but will be victorious.
Q: First it was said that around 95,000 NRIs have come to the Punjab since January. This figure was later revised to 55,000 people. What is the actual status?
A: There is no revision, these are two different sets of numbers. The 95,000 NRIs were the ones who arrived directly to Punjab, at Mohali and Amritsar airports as well as the Wagah and Kartarpur Sahib land ports before the lockdown was announced. They were home quarantined and subsequent screening showed five positive cases, all of whom have been admitted to isolation wards of hospitals. Most of the other cases have now completed their quarantine period.
Then there was this list of 55000 NRIs/foreign travelers who had arrived in Delhi and their list was shared with us by the Centre. Though they were all tested at the Delhi airport, on the directions of the Centre, we started their tracing and contact tracing, which is now mostly complete.
There are a few cases where we believe passengers are still hiding their travel and contact history. I have appealed to them to come forward voluntarily or else their passports would be impounded.
Q: Have you asked the Centre or governments abroad to arrange the evacuation of NRIs from Punjab?
A: The decision on evacuation of foreign nationals, including NRIs, is being taken by the Ministry of External Affairs on a case-to-case basis. Since March 31, 825 NRIs have gone back, this is an ongoing process.
Q: Earlier Nawanshahr, the NRI belt of the state, was the hub of covid-19 cases but now Mohali has replaced it, despite it having the best health infrastructure.
A: Nawanshahr is still a hotspot though what happened there was that cases were mostly interlinked. Now eight of these patients have fully recovered, including a 2-year-old. You have to remember that the number of cases go up once testing is taken up on extensive level in any area. In Mohali that is what happened, and the cases went up to 42 as a result of increased testing. This is the trend the world over – more testing leads to more positive cases coming up, and the pandemic management strategy gets aligned to that.
Q: As Punjab has borders with Haryana, Himachal, Jammu, Rajasthan as well as with Pakistan, is it at all possible to seal all of them?
A: It was more of a manpower exercise than anything else, since all the neighbouring states also went in for sealing of the borders. With Pakistan, the border, in any case, remains sealed. The national lockdown made things easy as no movement of people has been allowed. For transport of essentials, we have already set up a control room to coordinate with other states and also with the Centre.