Chandigarh, Sep 9 (IANS): Amid easing of restrictions, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced that those flying in from abroad with Covid-19 negative certificates, up to 96 hours old, can now go for home quarantine.

International travellers who getting themselves tested on arrival at the airport, as part of the Centre's new directives, can also go home for quarantine if found negative, he said, adding that Punjab was currently at the 17th position in the country in terms of Covid cases.

The Chief Minister said after the decline in testing due to rumour-mongering and fake propaganda, the number of Covid tests had again touched around 28,000 per day as the police had cracked down heavily on miscreants spreading misinformation in the state.

Noting that 28,688 tests were conducted on Tuesday, he said the figures would be raised to 30,000 soon.

The focus of the state government is on saving lives, for which early testing is essential, he added.

The anti-social elements are defaming Punjab, he said, adding that claims of organ harvesting of deceased Covid patients were totally incorrect and illogical, and warned such miscreants of strict action.

"We have to effectively counter such campaigns," he told the third group of Congress MLAs as part of his series of video conferences with party legislators and ministers to discuss the Covid situation.

He asked the ministers and MLAs to visit their districts and constituencies to take stock of the ground situation over the next three days. With the peak expected in the state in the next two weeks, it was important for the elected representatives and officials to work together to tackle the crisis, he said.

Slamming the Aam Aadmi Party for its concerted campaign to spread misinformation in Punjab on Covid, the Chief Minister said despite its lower population, Delhi, which is ruled by the AAP, has reported worse data on the pandemic.

They (AAP) have made it a subject of competition, he said, adding that this was shocking.

Nowhere has such a thing happened, and in fact, the Congress has been supporting state governments across the country in their fight against Covid, in sharp contrast to AAP and the Akalis who are trying to derail the Punjab government's efforts, he added.

Health Secretary Hussan Lala apprised the meeting of the latest data on Covid in Punjab, pointing out that 90 per cent of the deaths had been reported among Level III patients, 7.6 per cent among Level II and the remaining of patients in home isolation.