Chandigarh, May 1: Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Friday stated that state government is testing all the pilgrims who returned from Nanded in Maharashtra. Sidhu mentioned that none of the pilgrims have been allowed to go home, giving reasons that they were under Maharashtra government's observation and it was their duty to implement Centre's guidelines.

Informing about the latest developments, Sidhu said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "We're testing all pilgrims. We'll be able to control this within few days. We haven't allowed anyone to go home. Those who came to Tarn Taran directly had come after crossing 5-6 states. They weren't stopped on any border.They entered Punjab. Our govt traced them." Punjab Govt Launches Portal For Migrants And Others Stranded Opting to Leave For Home States; Here's How to Register at covidhelp.punjab.gov.in.

Adding more, he said, "They were under Maharashtra govt's observation. It was their duty to implement centre's guidelines; their samplings&tests should've been done there. Had they told us it hasn't been done,we would've sent 2 teams there."

Here are the ANI tweets:

The state health minister said that if the testing was done in Maharashtra, the teams would have tested them there and segregated them on its basis. Stating that based on the segregation, Punjab government would have kept the people who tested positive in isolation and the others in quarantine.

Earlier, the Punjab government launched a portal for migrants in the state who are opting to head back to their native provinces. The migrants, whether workers, students or those stranded for other reasons, need to register at covidhelp.punjab.gov.in. The government, in coordination with their state counterparts, will arrange for the commutation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2020 03:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).