South Dinajpur reports 28 new Covid cases

BALURGHAT: With the detection of 28 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, the total figure of the persons suffering from disease crossed the figure of 1,000 in South Dinajpur.

Since Monday 1,010 patients have been infected with the virus.

A health official said 771 patients have been cured and released from the hospitals. At present there are 237 active cases in the district. Of them, 17 critical patients have been admitted to Corona Hospital in Balurghat and 118 patients are staying in home isolation as they are experiencing mild symptoms.

Of the fresh 28 patients, nine hail from Harirampur, six each from Gangarampur and Kumarganj, three from Kushmanid, two from Balurghat and one each from Tapan and Buniadpur. They have been admitted to several designated facilities for treatment. Their swab samples were recently sent to Malda for examination. Most of them were asymptomatic as learnt from a health source. It is alleged that despite the appeals of the health personnel to the family members of the Covid positive patients asking them to stay homes but the people under Balurghat civic areas were found loitering flouting the protocol.

In another development, District Magistrate Nikhil Nirmal on Monday issued a notification and announced the extension of lockdown in all 45 broad-based containment zones across the district till July 31 due to the spike in Covid positive cases. The lockdown had earlier been declared in containment zones on July 20.

The lockdown would be extended by one more week if the situation remains unchanged.

The government offices will run 50 per cent of the employees at a time. The shops and establishments dealing with essential services shall remain open from 8 am to 12 noon daily.

A strict vigil will be maintained to ensure social distancing norms. No one will be allowed to enter in public places without face masks.