Returnees from other states fuel fresh spike in Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: Returnees from other states have caused the latest surge in Covid-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh. Four of the seven people who tested positive on Tuesday have also come back from Punjab and Delhi. Of the 25 cases, including one death, reported in the state since May 4, 15 are those who have returned from other states. The state's tally is now 66, of these 25 are active. This includes a doctor on duty at Tanda medical college.
Himachal Pradesh CM Thakur informed Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan during a video conference on containment strategy that the doubling rate in the state is now 12.5 days compared to 99 days a week back.
While 12 patients have returned from Delhi, the remaining three have a travel history of Jalandhar in Punjab, Panchkula in Haryana and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Four of the new cases are from Kangra district. This includes a 40-year-old man from Kulthi village who returned in a taxi from Jalandhar on Sunday and his sample was taken on Monday. The other three cases are of a 62-year-old man from Banuri in Palampur - a police head constable who returned from Panchkula on April 30 - and a 33-year-old man from Jamanabad.
The other two cases are from Hamirpur -- a 50-year-old man from Bajhrol and 30-year-old man from Palbhu. Both had travelled in the same taxi from Delhi on April 30. Their samples were taken on Saturday.
Case surge matter of concern: HP CM
The influx of 1 lakh people from various parts of country and thousands more likely to enter HP in coming days is likely to cause a further spike in numbers. As a precautionary measure, people coming from red zones and with influenza-like illness symptoms will now be kept in institutional quarantine.
In Kangra district, of the nine active patients, four returned from Delhi, and one each from Punjab and Haryana. In Bilaspur district, both active patients are drivers from Ahmedabad and Delhi.
Hamirpur district has four active cases and all of them were tested on their return from Delhi. Una’s lone active case, a 30-year-old woman from Amb sub-division, too had returned recently from Delhi with her family.
Mandi’s lone active case in Jogindernagar is a man who came back from Delhi. The district reported the first death over the week: A 22-year-old man from Sarkaghat in Mandi, who tested positive on returning from Delhi, where he was being treated for renal failure. Later, his mother tested positive for the case in Shimla. She is being treated in Shimla.
CM Jai Ram Thakur said 55,000 people from the state who were stranded across the country wanted to come back. He said the sharp spike in HP is a matter of concern, but it is the responsibility of state government to provide all possible help to people stranded in various parts of country. Thakur said they had developed geo-fencing app to ensure people coming from other states do not jump quarantine.
Due to the spurt in cases, the number of dedicated Covid-19 care centres, health centres and hospitals have been increased to 2,300.