State nodal officer, 326 others test positive for Covid-19 in Haryana
GURUGRAM AGAIN Of total cases, 215 reported in the NCR district alone
CHANDIGARH: Haryana’s nodal officer for Covid-19, Dr Dhruva Chaudhary, 56, and his 25-yearold daughter are among the 327 people who tested positive for the virus in the state on Thursday.
“We had collected the samples of Dr Chaudhary’s 50-year-old wife on June 2, while the samples of the nodal officer and his daughter, who is also a doctor in a private hospital, were taken on Wednesday.
Dr Chaudhary and his daughter tested positive on Thursday, while the result of his wife is awaited,” a senior official in the PGIMS microbiology department said.
Dr VK Katyal, senior professor of medicine at PGIMS, has been appointed as state nodal officer for Covid-19 in the absence of Dr Chaudhary, said PGIMS vice-chancellor OP Kalra. “41 contacts of Dr Chaudhary, including PGIMS staff, have been quarantined,” he added.
STATE’S TALLY NOW 3,281
Haryana on Thursday again saw the biggest single-day spike in infections, which took the state’s tally to 3,281.
Even as the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to convene a meeting with Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to find out a common programme and a common portal for interstate movement within a week, the spiraling number of fresh cases in Gurugram continued to be a cause of concern for the state health authorities.
Gurugram and Faridabad accounted for about 77% of the positive cases recorded on Thursday. While Gurugram registered 215 fresh cases, 35 infections were detected in Faridabad.
Other NCR districts recording fresh cases were Palwal (7), Nuh (4) and Jhajjar (2).
Deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala on Thursday said Covid cases were on rise in Sonepat, Gurugram, Jhajjar and Faridabad due to interstate movement between these districts and the national capital.
He said all three states (Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh) must appoint one senior official to set up a common programme for ensuring better interstate movement.
The deputy CM said interstate borders must be opened for limited people and work from home should be encouraged.
49-YEAR-OLD MAN DIES IN KARNAL
A 49-year-old man has reportedly died due to coronavirus in Karnal. He was among the five persons who had tested positive for the virus on Thursday, said Karnal deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav. These cases are yet to be added to the state’s official tally. While three new cases were reported in Kaithal, nine people were found infected in Kurukshetra and one each in Panipat and Ambala. Sukhbir Singh, chief medical officer, Kurukshetra, said all local patients either have a history of travel or being in contact with a corona carrier.