Police enforce the lockdown in Punjab’s Ludhiana. (PTI) Police enforce the lockdown in Punjab’s Ludhiana. (PTI)

IN Bhagat Singh’s native district of Nawanshahr, his martyrdom day made hardly a stir Monday. Life in this NRI hub of Punjab has come to revolve around its 15 coronavirus patients, plus the few thousand people who are now in quarantine in five villages. Punjab’s only death can also be traced back to Nawanshahr — leaving one of the state’s small districts with its highest burden (15 cases of the state’s total of 23).

At the centre of the fight against the virus is the district’s Civil Hospital, whose patient numbers, plus three suspected cases isolated in a 40-bed ward, are the highest for a hospital in the state.

Senior Medical Officer of the hospital Dr Harwinder Singh said the condition of all 15 is stable. “In case we need ventilators, the patients will be referred to Jalandhar,” he said. The Civil Hospital has no ventilators.

Handling the crisis are three teams, comprising doctors, nurses and helpers, working round the clock. They monitor the patients, for temperature and blood pressure, as well as ensure the delivery of medicines and eatables in the isolation ward.

“The medical teams are not allowed to eat anything once they enter the ward. They have only water and tea,” said Dr Singh.

A staff member said once home, they maintain a distance from family members. A team member said he had asked his family not to enter his room. “Small negligence can cause us dear,” he said.

A nurse has been staying back at the hospital as she has young children whom she doesn’t want to put at risk.

Explained: How NRIs’ irresponsible behaviour put Punjab at risk

On Monday, instead of a fair, also attended by many NRIs, to mark Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day, Nawanshahr Deputy Commissioner Vinay Bublani was alone in paying tributes to his statue at his native village Khatkar Kalan.

The president of the traders’ association, Gurcharan Arora, said, “This time we don’t want NRIs to come to Punjab because they are the carriers of this disease.”

Arora accused the Punjab government of having been lax in checking for symptoms at entry points. “Every NRI was allowed to enter without educating them to isolate and quarantine themselves. My granddaughter came 10 days back and we put her under home quarantine but our NRI relatives are coming without taking any precautions.”

Raman Murgai of Murgai Cloth House on Geeta Bhawan Road said he was keeping his shop closed because of the same fear. “I closed my shop when the first case was reported on March 18,” he said.

“Earlier our entire focus was to get more and more NRI customers because they form the bulk of our buyers, but this time our focus is to save our district from this deadly virus,” said Sameer of Puja Handloom.

Here’s a quick coronavirus guide for you to stay updated: Who all should be tested for Covid-19 and when? | How should you quarantine yourself? | How often (and how) should you clean your home? | What is the Janata Curfew announced by PM Modi? | Who are restricted from coming to India, and from when? | How long can the virus live on surfaces or in air around you? | Still more Coronavirus Q&A Explained news here

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