WITH 103 NEW CASES, HP VIRUS COUNT MOUNTS TO 3,150

DHARAMSHALA:: Ten army jawans were among the 103 people to test positive for Covid-19 in Himachal, as the state’s tally crossed 3,100.

Among the new cases, 36 cases were reported in Solan, 15 in Sirmaur, 13 in Chamba, 12 in Kangra, eight each in Shimla and Una, six in Kullu, four in Bilaspur and one in Mandi. The state’s total tally stands at 3,150.

Most cases have been reported in the Baddi-barotiwala-nalagarh industrial belt.

Eleven cases have been reported in Solan town and three in Parwanoo.

Fifteen cases have been reported in Sirmaur, including the personal security officer of Pachhad MLA Reena Kashyap. The woman lawmaker and her PSO attended a programme held to facilitate newly appointed power minister Sukhram Kahsyap who tested positive yesterday.

Chamba deputy commissioner Vivek Bhatia said among the 13 cases reported in the district, eight are from Dharog locality of Chamba town. They are the primary contacts of people who had tested positive earlier. The virus spread from a 60-year-old senior citizen who had tested positive in random sampling and has no travel history.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old girl, who had returned from Karnataka, has tested positive in NHPC colony and two cases are from Chaugan locality of Chamba town. A solider, who returned from Leh, has tested positive in Dalhousie.

Meanwhile, 12 cases were reported in Kangra. Nine military jawans tested positive. All soldiers have a travel history while one patient has no travel history, said DC Rakesh Kumar Prajapati.

In Shimla, eight people have tested positive.

The next day, he toured Nahan and was accompanied by state BJP chief Kashyap and food and civil supplies corporation vicechairman Baldev Tomar.

Former party chief and Nahan MLA Rajeev Bindal, marketing board chairman Baldev Bhandari and Pachhad MLA Reena Kashyap also attended the programmes organised by BJP workers to welcome Chaudhary.

Sirmaur district BJP president Vinay Gupta accompanied the minister to Paonta Sahib, his home constituency, on August 1. Gupta and Bhandari have quarantined themselves.

Chaudhary’s contact list may be long as several programmes were organised to felicitate him in Solan and Sirmaur after his swearing-in ceremony.