In its highest single-day jump, Punjab on Saturday recorded 11 cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of those infected in the state to 14, official said.
In the latest development, six cases were reported from Nawanshahr, three from Mohali and one each from Hoshiarpur and Amritsar, they said.
As of now, a total of 181 samples have been tested, out of which, the reports of 141 persons were found negative, a medical bulletin said.
The report of 23 persons is awaited, it said. The bulletin added that 40 people with suspected coronavirus are admitted in hospitals.
The maximum number (six) of coronavirus patients were reported from Nawanshahr town of the state. They are the relatives of the 70-year-old coronavirus positive man who had returned from Germany via Italy and died on Wednesday because of cardiac arrest.
Among the infected are his three sons, daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, as per the bulletin.
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A 60-year-old resident of Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur who had come in contact with the 70-year-old man also tested positive, it said.
Three persons from Mohali tested positive on Saturday. Among them is a 74-year-old woman, sister of the 69-year-old Mohali-based woman who tested positive on Friday, said Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan.
Another 28-year-old Mohali-based woman who came in contact with Chandigarh-based 23-year-old woman coronavirus patient, also tested positive, said Dayalan.
A 42-year-old Mohali resident, who recently returned from the United Kingdom, also tested positive for COVID-19. He is admitted to a government hospital in Sector-16 in Chandigarh.
A coronavirus positive case was also reported from Amritsar as a 36-year-old man, who recently returned from the UK, tested positive, officials said.
Notably, Punjab's first coronavirus patient was tracked in Amritsar who had returned from Italy.
According to the bulletin, condition of all COVID-19 positive cases is stable.
Meanwhile, the health authorities said all those who came in close contact with the coronavirus patients have been put under quarantine and surveillance.
Samples of such contacts have been taken for testing, they said.
Meanwhile, the district administrations of Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Mohali are taking steps to contain the spread of the disease.
In Hoshiarpur, the district administration has ordered closure of all markets except shops of essential items and chemists.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a fiscal package to combat the coronavirus crisis and permission to get tests done at private hospitals and labs in the state.
The CM had expressed grave concern over the escalating COVID-19 crisis while taking part in the deliberations during a video conference convened by the PM with all the chief ministers to review the situation.
The CM has also asked deputy commissioners and district police chiefs to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for the containment of coronavirus.