Two COVID-19 patients reach Mandi from Delhi in private vehicles, HP infection tally crosses 550-mark

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Shimla, Jun 15 () Two COVID-19 patients reached Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district from Delhi in private vehicles on Monday, officials said.

Meanwhile, a 16-year-old youth from Chamba, who died a few days ago, tested positive for coronavirus, while the state's positive case tally rose to 557 with 38 new infections being reported on Monday.

In Mandi, a 39-year-old COVID-19 patient reached Ner Chowk hospital from Delhi in a taxi on Monday, a district official said.

A resident of Jogindernagar's Lad Bharol tehsil, he is being shifted to Dhangsidhar COVID-19 care centre, the official added.

The patient, along with his five family members, including mother, brother, sister-in-law and nephew, arrived at Ner Chowk hospital in two taxis at around 11 am, he said, adding that the five along with the two drivers were institutionally quarantined at Ayurvedic Pharmacy Hostel in Jogindernagar.

In yet another incident, a 46-year-old COVID-19 patient returned from Delhi in a personal vehicle on Monday morning.

She was institutionally quarantined at Ayurvedic Pharmacy Hospital in Jogindernangar.

A resident of Lad Bharol area, her sample had been taken in Delhi on June 13 and she tested positive on Monday. She is being shifted to Nerchowk hospital.

Both these cases are not included in the state's tally as officials say the cases are included in the record of the place where they tested positive.

A few days earlier too, a COVID-19 positive man had arrived at Mandi's Nerchowk hospital from Delhi.

Giving district-wise details of fresh COVID-19 cases, the officials said the highest number of 19 infections was reported from Solan, followed by nine from Una, three each from Chamba, Hamirpur and Kangra and one from Shimla.

However, the death of the teenager from Chamba has not been included in the state record of COVID-19 fatalities as cause of his death is being ascertained, the officials said.

In Solan, 19 new coronavirus cases -- some of them primary contacts of COVID-19 patients while others tested positive after random sampling -- were detected in the industrial town of Baddi, district health officer N K Gupta said.

A doctor and two pregnant women are among those who tested positive, the official said, adding that a former panchayat president who earlier tested positive had taken medicine from the doctor.

Five of the 19 fresh cases are from Baddi's Amrawati Colony, four from Billawali and the rest from different areas of Baddi, he added.

In Hamirpur, three Delhi returnees including a couple from Tounidevi area and a man from Bhoranj tested positive on Monday, a district official said.

In Shimla, a 32-year-old man who had been institutionally quarantined since her arrival from Delhi on June 9, tested positive, a district official said.

Sixteen patients were cured of the virus since Sunday 9 pm.

The number of those who have recovered from the disease so far in the state is 342, while 11 COVID-19 patients have migrated out of the state, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said.

Seven people have died due to the infection in the state.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 195, he added.

Kangra district has the highest number of active cases in the state at 57, followed by Una (34), Solan (29), Hamirpur (26), Sirmaur (13), Bilaspur (12), Chamba (10), Shimla (8), Mandi (3), Kinnaur (2) and Kullu (1). DJI CORR SMN SMN