Seven more test positive for Covid-19 in Himachal, state tally reaches 66

Four cases have been reported from Kangra and two from Hamirpur

Seven more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 66.

So far, the state has recorded 65 cases, including two casualties. (Representative Image/HT)

Five cases have been reported from Kangra and two from Hamirpur.

One of the three patients from Kangra is a 50-year-old honourary Himachal Police head constable. He was posted at Panchrukhi police station and has no travel history, deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar Prajapati said. The Panchrukhi Police station has been temporarily sealed.

The second patient is a 40-year-old man from Kulthi village near Kangra town who returned from Jalandhar on May 10. The third patient, a 62-year-old from Paprola near Baijnath, who runs a tea shop near Palampur, tested positive at a flu clinic, Prajapati said. He, too, has no travel history.

The fourth patient to test positive is a 33-year-old from Jamanabad village near Kangra town. He returned from Panchkula on April 30 on a scooter.

Besides, a doctor posted at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Tanda has also tested positive for the virus.

Apart from it, two cases have been reported from Bajrol panchayat in Sujanpur sub-division of Hamirpur district. Two patients, 30-year-old and 50-year-old, had returned home from Delhi on April 30.

Authorities in Kangra and Hamirpur have started mapping the patient’s contacts.

With seven fresh cases, the number of active cases in the state has gone up to 25.

Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a jump in Covid-19 cases with 26 cases being reported in nine days, including one fatality. The number of active cases has jumped from one to 25, in the corresponding period.

The Covid-19 count in Kangra, the most populous district in the state, has gone up to 15, including one fatality. Currently, 10 cases are active in the district.

So far, the state has recorded 66 cases, including two casualties.

The first case was reported on March 20 in Kangra. Thirty-five people have recovered, so far.

Una is the worst-hit district with a total of 17 cases followed by Kangra with 15 cases and Chamba 12 cases.

Nine cases have been reported in Solan, six in Hamirpur, three in Mandi, and two each in Sirmaur and Bilaspur.

COVID POSITIVE PATIENT ROAMS FREE IN HOSPITAL

Authorities were on the tenterhooks and patients panicked as a Covid-19 positive man was found roaming in Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Tanda, on Tuesday.

The man from Kulthi village near Kangra town returned home on May 10 and was asymptomatic. His sample was sent for testing on Monday and he was told to remain under home quarantine.

However, on Tuesday the 40-year-old man jumped home quarantine and reached RPGMC to know the status of his Covid-19 test and was there for around two hours.

He was confined after authorities came to know about him and the OPD was immediately suspended. OPD was resumed after the hospital campus was sanitized. Patients and their attendants present in the OPD were also sanitised.

The patient is likely to be booked for jumping quarantine and putting others’ lives at risk.

EARLY MORNING GOOF UP CAUSES PANIC

An early morning goof up by the health authorities caused panic in Hamirpur district. District health officials declared three people from Galod area of the district positive. The news soon spread on online portals.

However, the authorities later retracted the statement stating that the three samples were negative and were erroneously declared positive due to a mix up in communication.

LAHAUL –SPITI BORDER SEALED

The Lahaul-Spiti border was sealed after an increase in Covid-19 cases in Ladakh. Lahaul-Spiti deputy commissionerKamal Kant Sadoch said with the exception of the army, no one will be allowed to enter the district from Leh-Ladakh.

He said the district administration has written a letter to DC Kargil and Ladakh regarding this matter.

Ladakh has been kept in red zone, therefore, people will not be allowed to enter the district after clearence of the strategic Leh-Manali Highway.

Police will be deployed in Sarchu and Shinkula borders to make sure no one enters the district.

So far, there have been no coronavirus positive cases. Around 60 persons have tested positive in Himachal Pradesh.