Lockdown/curfew in Ludhiana extended till May 3

Ludhiana: In view of Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic, and following the orders of Union government, the lockdown/curfew in district Ludhiana has been extended till May 3, 2020. Prior to it, the Punjab Cabinet had already decided to extend the lockdown/curfew. This information was provided by District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner Mr Pradeep Kumar Agrawal today.
He clarified that in view of lockdown/curfew, all passes issued by the District Administration regarding essential services would remain valid till May 3, 2020. He informed that if any person has a manual pass, then that person would be able to use that pass by showing his/her identity card.
He informed that the wheat procurement is to start from April 15, 2020 onwards and 221 purchase centres have been set up. He said that if need arises, more sites can be allocated as purchase centres as well. He assured that all arrangements regarding wheat procurement have been completed in the district.
The Deputy Commissioner told them that this time, due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic, the farmers would be able to bring their produce in the Mandis only as per their turn.
Mr Agrawal informed that as per the directions of the Punjab government, lockdown/curfew is enforced in the district. He said that as per the directions, the district administration would ensure that there is no rush of farmers in the Mandis. He said that for this purpose, the farmers would be issued token passes, and it would be on the basis of these tokens that the farmers would be able to bring their produce in mandis. He said that the arhtiyas would ensure that the farmers bring their produce in the mandis as per their given schedule. He assured the farmers that every single grain of wheat would be procured.
He said that the COVA app launched by the Punjab government is very beneficial for the residents. He said that any person can have real time information about COVID 19, along with details of directions of Punjab govt. He said that a large number of people should download this app so that they don’t fall prey to any rumours.
The Deputy Commissioner informed that there is a good news for Ludhiana residents that the testing of samples regarding COVID 19 can now be done in Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, here, as earlier these samples had to be sent to Patiala. He informed that even Christian Medical College & Hospital has also applied for affiliation for testing as well, and they are expected to get this affiliation shortly.
He informed that a total of 800 samples have been sent for testing from district Ludhiana till now, out of which report of 671 samples have been received, while report of 129 is awaited. He informed that 641 samples are negative, while 17 samples have been rejected, whereas only 13 positive cases have been reported, and one patient has been discharged from hospital after successful treatment.