DW BUREAU/ Chandigarh The death toll due to COVID-19 in Punjab rose to 1,178 on Tuesday as 49 more people succumbed to the disease, while the infection tally climbed to 44,577 as 1,293 fresh cases were detected in the state, according to a medical bulletin. This is the third-highest number of deaths reported in a day in Punjab. On August 17, record 51 deaths were reported and 50 were recorded on August 23.Of the latest fatalities, 11 were reported from Ludhiana, nine from Mohali, five each from Amritsar and Patiala, four each from Faridkot and Jalandhar, three from Sangrur, two each from Fatehgarh Sahib and Moga, and one each from Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Pathankot and Mansa, the bulletin said. The fresh cases were reported from Ludhiana (175), Mohali (154), Gurdaspur (149), Patiala (140), Jalandhar (119), Bathinda (82), Amritsar (75), Kapurthala (65) and Hoshiarpur (61), among other districts. A total of 788 coronavirus patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection. So far 29,145 people have been cured, the bulletin said. Currently, there are 14,254 active COVID-19 cases in the state, it said. While 55 critical patients are on ventilator support, 499 are on oxygen support, it added. With 22,325 more samples being collected for COVID-19 testing, the total number of samples taken so far for testing has reached 9,41,939, the bulletin stated. Meanwhile, shopkeepers and traders in the five worst-affected districts of Punjab due to coronavirus have slammed the state government for allowing only 50 per cent shops dealing in non-essential items, saying their business would be further hit. On August 20, the state government had directed deputy commissioners of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Mohali districts, to allow only 50 per cent of the non-essential shops to open on a daily basis. Hitting out at the decision, the shopkeepers in these districts sought to know why they were being "targeted" when restaurants, hotels and liquor vends had been allowed to run their operations fully, amid the coronavirus pandemic. "We have already suffered a setback because of the lockdown. Now when things are looking up, only 50 per cent shops of non-essential commodities are being allowed to run," Sameer Jain, general secretary, Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, said on Tuesday. The shopkeepers are also upset as their shops remain closed even on weekends owing to the weekend lockdown in the state. "Effectively, we can open our shops only for less than three days in a week," a Jalandhar-based shopkeeper dealing in electronic goods said. The Punjab government had also announced to extend the weekend lockdown and night curfew by two hours from 7 pm till 5 am in all cities and towns in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. Traders and market associations have been asked to open shops in all markets in a staggered way. However, shops dealing in essential items like medicines, milk and food, can remain open on all days. (editor@dailyworld.in)