25 new coronavirus cases in Himachal, count now 586

Shimla, June 17

Twenty-five people, including an SSB personnel, tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, taking the number of infections in the state to 586, officials said.

So far, seven people have died from the disease in the state.

The 44-year-old Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel was posted at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi and had recently returned to Kangra district.

He is among the eight cases reported from the district. Seven cases were detected in Hamirpur, four in Una, three in Chamba, two in Solan and one in Sirmaur.

In Kangra, most new patients, including five from two families, recently returned from the Delhi-NCR region, a district official said.

The SSB personnel was institutionally quarantined at Dehra after his arrival from Delhi on June 13. He was shifted to a zonal hospital in Dharamshala on June 15 after he developed fever, he added.

A woman, 34, who returned from Gurgaon tested positive for the infection with her two daughters, aged three and seven. She belonged to Bhawarna in the district.

A 55-year-old man and his 46-year-old wife were also found infected with the virus. He had returned from Delhi. Among the Delhi returnees testing positive for the infection was a 23-year-old man from Marhoon in Kangra.

A 30-year-old woman was also detected with the infection, the official said.

In Hamirpur, six of the seven fresh cases, including two women, have recently returned from Delhi, Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said.

They were home quarantined and now they are being shifted to dedicated COVID care centres (DCCCs) for treatment and isolation, he added.

The DC said a Delhi-returnee couple from Tounidevi area—who had been admitted to DCCC at Hamirpur NIT on June 9 -- was shifted to Bhota  RCH on Tuesday night for treatment following reports of cough, fever and body ache.

In Kullu, 26 primary contacts of a 54-year-old cancer patient who tested positive at the PGIMER in Chandigarh have been quarantined, SP Gaurav Singh said.

Earlier, he remained at the PGIMER for treatment from May 20 to 29. On his return to Kullu, he was home quarantined, Singh added.

Subsequently, he went to the Regional Hospital, Kullu, and Harihar Hospital for treatment. Twenty-six people who came in his contact at Kullu have been quarantined, he added.

He again went to PGIMER for treatment a few days ago and is currently admitted there, he added.

Seven patients---three in Chamba, two in Hamirpur and one each in Sirmaur and Mandi---recovered from the disease, officials said.

A total of 368 people have recovered from the infection so far while 11 have migrated out of the state, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 198, Dhiman said.

Kangra district has the highest number of active cases in the state at 55, followed by Una (36), Solan (30), Hamirpur (31), Sirmaur (13), Bilaspur and Chamba (10 each), Shimla (8), Mandi and Kinnaur (two each) and Kullu (1). PTI

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