With 64 fresh infections, Hry tally climbs to 1,131

21 OF 76 HARYANA NATIVES DEPORTED FROM US TEST POSITIVE; 44 MORE PATIENTS DISCHARGED

CHANDIGARH::Sixty-four more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Haryana on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,131, officials said.

As many as 21 of the 76 Haryana natives deported back from the US and brought to Panchkula are among those who have tested positive for the virus.

While 16 of these positive cases who hailed from Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and Karnal, will be admitted at isolation wards or hospitals at Mullana in Ambala district, three of the remaining patients will be admitted at Agroha (Hisar) and two in Rohtak, senior officials of the health department said.

The 76 people were part of a group of over 160 Indians who had arrived at Amritsar in Punjab by a special chartered flight earlier this week.

Earlier, state health minister Anil Vij said 22 of the 76 persons had been found positive. However, senior doctors in Panchkula said the reports of 21 people had so far been confirmed. Those found negative will be quarantined in their home districts.

Also, 12 new cases were reported from Gurugram, 10 in Faridabad, seven in Panipat, three each in Sonepat, Jind and Hisar, two in Bhiwani and one each in Palwal, Karnal and Kurukshetra. The fresh infections in Gurugram and Faridabad are the contacts of already infected patients, doctors said.

Seven new cases reported from Panipat include four inmates, aged between nine and 12 years, and two employees of a rehabilitation centre.

Panipat civil surgeon Dr Sant Lal Verma said the employees include a 36-year-old sweeper and a 40-year-old supervisor at the centre located in Shiv Nagar. The seventh patient is a 25-year-old youth from Ganga Ram colony.

Four more people, including three of a family, tested positive for Covid-19 in Karnal. A 45-yearold woman from Ladwa of Kurukshetra

district was also found positive for the virus, Dr Sukhbir Singh, chief medical officer, said. She had returned from Delhi on May 20.

Two fresh cases in Bhiwani include a 51-year-old Gurugram woman and a 27-year-old resident from Tigdana village.

A sub-inspector, who hails from Sonepat and was working in Delhi has also tested positive. He has been sent to isolation ward at BPS.

Meanwhile, 44 more patients were discharged on Saturday. With this, the recovery rate of the state has risen to 66.3 %.