Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], Aug 13 (ANI): Hundred per cent testing in micro containment zones and containment zones must be done using Rapid Antigen Testing, said Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday.

"Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today emphasised the need for 100 per cent testing in the micro containment and containment zones using Rapid Antigen Tests to keep the further spread of COVID-19 under check," read a release from the Chief Minister's office (CMO).

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Singh asked the Deputy Commissioners, Commissioners of Police, SSPs and Civil Surgeons to go for a vigorous contact tracing, of at least 10 contacts of each positive case, stated the CMO release further.

"He also directed testing of persons with multiple contacts on account of their occupations, such as shop workers, mandi workers, and frontline government employees, within this week, declaring that this should be a 'Testing Week'," it added.

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The statement further stated that Singh also directed that all the offices, business establishments, industrial units, and marriage palaces, etc where more than 10 people gather, must appoint 'COVID-19 Monitors' to ensure adherence of health and safety protocols. "These Monitors would be responsible to ensure proper hygiene and sanitisation of working places to check the infections from this disease," it read further.

Singh interacted with the Deputy Commissioners, Police Commissioners, SSPs and Civil Surgeons of four worst coronavirus-hit districts viz. Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, and Amritsar urging them to ramp up testing.

"The Chief Minister asked these officers to divide the districts into sectors to keep a strict vigil over the COVID-19 situation by ramping up 100% testing, surveillance and contact tracing. Each Sector would be supervised by a joint team comprising of civil and police officers of gazetted rank, who would ensure the completion of the above tasks in a time-bound manner," it read.

Punjab today reported 1,035 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of cases to 27,936. The death toll due to COVID-19 in the state rises to 706 after 36 deaths were reported today, said the state government's bulletin on Thursday. (ANI)

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