DW BUREAU / Chandigarh The coronavirus tally in Punjab rose to 2.79 lakh on Tuesday with 3,003 new infections, while 53 more deaths took the toll to 7,609, a health bulletin said. There are 28,184 active cases, while 2,612 more coronavirus patients recuperated, taking the number of recoveries to 2.43 lakh, the Health Department said. Seven people died in Hoshiarpur, six each in Sangrur and Gurdaspur and five each in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, among Covid related fatalities. Ludhiana reported 480 cases, followed by 391 in Jalandhar, 374 in Mohali, 312 in Amritsar and 298 in Patiala. There are 50 critical patients who are on ventilator support, while 363 are on oxygen support. A total of 64,07,939 samples have been collected for testing so far, it said. A central team, led by Additional Secretary V K Singh, took stock of the COVID situation in district, besides issuing directions to further expedite the pace of ongoing testing and vaccination. Holding a meeting with the officials of the district administration and the Health Department, Singh asked for ramping up contact tracing so that the transmission chain of virus could be contained effectively. The team also expressed satisfaction over the concerted efforts being made by the administration for controlling the spread of coronavirus, according to officials. Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported 397 cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count to 31,564. The toll reached 401 with the death of a 39-year-old man, according to a medical bulletin. The number of active cases stood at 3,370 and 381 patients recuperated, taking the number of recoveries to 27,793, the bulletin stated. A total of 3,46,766 samples have been taken for testing so far, ti said. The Chandigarh administration decided to close the Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake area will also remain closed on all weekends till the situation improves, an official release said. Administrator V P Singh Badnore directed the Health Department to intensify screening and testing. He ordered placing of mobile vans in crowded places like temples and gurdwaras so that the visitors could be screened and symptomatic persons could be tested immediately. (editor@dailyworld.in)