Mandi, Kullu & Lahaul-Spiti record highest Covid positivity rates in Himachal
The tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti, which saw a spurt in the cases after the opening of the Atal Tunnel, has the positivity rate of 13.75%.
SHIMLA/DHARAMSHALA With Himachal Pradesh struggling to contain the spread of Covid-19, Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti have emerged as the top three districts with high positivity rates in the state.
Positivity rate is the number of positive cases per 100 tests. Mandi, which also ranks second in terms number of cases, has the highest positivity rate of 13.94%, followed by Kullu at 13.90%.
The tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti, which saw a spurt in the cases after the opening of the Atal Tunnel, has the positivity rate of 13.75%.
Shimla, which is the worst-hit district according to the number of cases reported, has a positivity rate of 12.5%. Also, Kumarsain-Kotgarh area of Shimla, which is known for its high-quality apple production, is one of the worst affected regions while Jubbal and Kotkhai have witnessed a surge in Covid cases due to marriages and social gatherings. Rohru and Rampur bazaar have already been declared as containment zones after a large number of shopkeepers tested positive for the virus.
With 9.46% positivity rate, Solan ranks fifth on the list. Rest of the districts have positivity rates below 8% — three of these districts have under 5% positivity rate.
Kangra has highest death rate
Kangra, population-wise the biggest district, has the highest death rate of 2.46% in the state. As many as 139 people have succumbed to the infection here so far. Shimla, where 180 people have died, ranks second with a case fatality ratio of 2.24.
Kullu is third on the list with a death rate of 1.99%. The district has recorded 75 fatalities till date.
The state has an overall death rate of 1.61.
13 deaths, 803 fresh infections
Meanwhile, Himachal on Friday recorded 803 fresh Covid-19 infections taking the state’s tally to 43,500, while the death toll mounted to 698 with thirteen more patients succumbing to the virus.
Of the new cases, 235 were reported in Shimla, 141 in Kangra, 110 in Mandi, 70 in Bilaspur, 55 in Kullu, 41 in Chamba, 37 in Solan, 27 in Hamirpur, 22 in Una, 13 in Sirmaur and eight in Lahaul-Spiti.
There are 8,300 active cases in the state whereas 34,458 people have recovered. As many as 578 recoveries were recorded on Friday. The recovery rate is 79.2%.
With its tally of Covid-19 cases having reached 8,027 Shimla remains the worst-hit district and is followed by Mandi where 7,025 people have been detected positive till date. Kangra ranks third with 5,778 infections while Solan has 5,240 cases, Kullu 3,799, Sirmaur 2,696, Bilaspur 2,248, Una 2,223, Hamirpur 2,211, Chamba 2,147, Lahul-Spiti 1,101 and Kinnaur 1,005.
Spurt from within the state
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur has said that people who have tested positive for Covid were mostly residents of Himachal, not outsiders, and this has happened due to marriage ceremonies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to remain cautious, he stated.
He said the state government would consider implementing the high court directions to curb the virus spread. “The government has been working sincerely to contain the spread of coronavirus and the directions given by the HC will also be implemented,” he said.
On panchayat elections, Thakur said that polls will be held in adherence to social distancing and all the SOPs, while victory celebrations will be banned.
He said the state government was also not organising any big celebrations on completion of its three years in office.
