DW BUREAU / chandigarh Under directives from Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to focus stringently on saving lives, Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Sunday asked the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to take whatever steps possible to arrest the mortality rate in the state so that the fatality could be brought down from the current 2.4 per cent. The effort should be on saving every Punjabi's life amid the pandemic, she said, directing the DCs to take special care of critical patients, and directed them to take the help of the State Expert Group chaired by Dr K K Talwar and including international and national experts. Reviewing the state's preparedness to contain the further spread of the deadly disease at her first video conference meeting with the DCs since taking over as the Chief Secretary, Vini expressed concern over the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state and said it was the duty of every DC to go the extra mile to ensure proper surveillance and also arrest the mortality rate, while sending as many cured patients as possible to their homes. The Chief Secretary instructed the DCs to allow Covid patients to go to private hospitals at their own expense if they so wished. They should also allow patients in Govt centres to get their own food etc if needed. She informed that the Punjab Government was working to increase the Corona Testing capacity to 20,000 per day, with the four new testing labs approved recently by the stare Govt expected to be operational soon, and new equipment being ordered in July. The Chief Secretary said that the Deputy Commissioners should ensure that every resident of Punjab should wear the mask and follow the instructions issued by the government. She said that it is critical to avoid large gatherings especially in closed spaces, and masks must invariably be worn in such situations. Not wearing mask, not keeping social distance or spitting in public are anti-social acts, she said, and urged the DCs to continue to appeal to the people of every district to be vigilant, take precautionary measures and follow the advice of health experts. The meeting felt that a concerted effort should be made to remove the stigma that is being attached to Covid infected persons. Covid is like any other disease where people need to rest and keep away for two weeks so as not to spread the infection, and this message should be spread among all the people in the state, said Vini. Health Department officials apprised the meeting that there is no shortage of PPE Kits and N-95 Masks in the state. Dr KK Talwar, Dr Raj Bahadur and Dr Rajesh Kumar also shared crucial information on steps needed to contain the spread of disease. The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Health Anurag Aggarwal, Principal Secretary Finance KAP Sinha, Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research DK Tewari, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Tejveer Singh, Principal Secretary Water Supply and Sanitation Jaspreet Talwar and Secretary Health Kumar Rahul. (editor@dailyworld.in)