<span style="color: #222222;">The Health Ministry has decided to deploy Central teams to Punjab and Chandigarh to assist in strengthening public health measures for containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management of COVID patients. The teams shall also guide in effectively addressing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up.<br />'' <br />'' The two-member teams will consist of a Community Medicine expert from PGIMER, Chandigarh and an epidemiologist from National Centre for Disease Control. These teams shall be stationed for ten days to provide extended guidance in managing COVID.<br />'' <br />'' Punjab has reported a total of 60,013 cases, whereas it has 15,731 active cases on date. It has registered 1739 deaths. The Testing Per Million figure for the State is 37546.<br />'' <br />'' Chandigarh is reporting 2095 active cases whereas its cumulative cases stand at 5268. Testing Per Million stands at 38054.<br />''<br />''Centre is actively supporting the states and UTs that are seeing a sudden surge in the number of COVID cases and those that are reporting high mortality by deputing multi-sectoral Central teams. The Union Health Ministry has been engaging with several States and UTs that are witnessing a surge in COVID cases and high mortality in some districts during the past two days. They have been advised to proactively undertake comprehensive measures to break the chain of transmission of the infectious disease and lower mortality, such that it eventually dips below  one percent.</span>