Himachal’s industry minister tests +ve; 1,692 new infections

DHARAMSHALA : Himachal Pradesh Industry Minister Bikram Thakur was among the 1,692 people who tested positive in the state on Wednesday, pushing the Covid tally to 81,102.

“I was feeling unwell for three-four days and my Covid test has returned positive,” Thakur wrote on his Facebook page, adding that he had been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Shimla, for treatment. He advised people, who had come in his contact, to self-isolate, get their tests done and strictly follow protocols.

Meanwhile, of the new cases, 288 were reported in Solan, 286 in Kangra, 224 in Shimla, 205 in Sirmaur, 120 in Hamirpur, 97 in Mandi, 67 in Una, 41 in Kullu and 27 in Lahaul-Spiti.

The death toll in the state mounted to 1,223 after 17 patients succumbed to the contagion. Four deaths each were reported in Kangra and Shimla, three in Solan and two each in Hamirpur and Una.

Active cases have gone up to 10,793 while recoveries reached 69,058 after 907 people recuperated.

Kangra remains the worsthit district with 13,286 cases, followed by Shimla where 12,839 and Mandi with 12,152 cases.

Solan’s caseload climbed to 10,483 while Una has 5,708 cases, Sirmaur 5,382, Kullu 5,217, Hamirpur 4,932, Bilaspur 4,231 , Chamba, 3,637, Lahaul-Spiti 1,661 and Kinnaur 1574.

Cong secy urges HP govt to start door-todoor vaccination drive

Congress national secretary and former minister Sudhir Sharma on Wednesday said the state government must step up efforts to deal with the mutant strain of Covid, which is spreading rapidly and is fatal.

In a statement issued here, Sharma said there was a need to impose tougher restrictions to fight the pandemic.