Himachal crosses 300 mark in 71 days

DHARAMSHALA: Himachal’s Covid-19 tally has crossed 300 in 71 days, on Saturday, after 17 more were tested positive for the virus in state.

“The state’s total tally has reached 313 with six new cases were reported from Hamirpur district, four each from Kangra and Una and three from Solan. There are now 197 active cases in the state, as 21 people recovered today,” said special secretary (health) Nipun Jindal.

Kangra deputy commissioner

Rakesh Kumar Prajapati said the four patients were under institutional quarantine.

“Three of them had returned from Delhi and one from Gurgaon. One person, who had returned from Thane on the Shramik Special Train, tested positive late on Friday. With this, Kangra now has 79 cases,” he said.

Late evening, six cases were reported from Hamirpur. All of them returned from other states. Four were under institutional quarantine and two under home quarantine, Hamirpur deputy commissioner Harikesh Meena said. Four cases were reported from Una district, and three from Solan.

DOUBLING RATE INCREASES

The doubling rate of Covid-19 cases in Himachal is faster than the national average of 13 days.

It took the state 71 days to breach the 300 mark after the state reported its first case on March 20. The tally touched 100 in exactly two months (61 days) on May 20. However, the count reached 200 in just four days on May 24. It took another six days (Total 71 days) for the tally to reach 300. The recovery rate in the state is around 30%.

RETURNEES BRING IN THE SECOND WAVE

Himachal has witnessed a second wave of cases since May 4 with 269 people testing positive for the virus. As many as 124 cases have been reported over the week.

So far, 313 cases have been reported in the state, including five fatalities. Three men and two women are among the dead.

Around 90% of the cases reported since May 4 are those who returned to Himachal from other states.