2 Nanded pilgrims among 18 new COVID-19 cases in Haryana; state's tally now 357

Two pilgrims, who returned to Sirsa from Maharashtra's Nanded, are among 18 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Haryana on Friday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the state to 357.

Sirsa district officials said both pilgrims had returned from the Hazur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded and were admitted to hospital.

With people returning from Nanded testing positive for the infection in Punjab, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said all pilgrims would be tested.

He added that 16 other pilgrims have been quarantined for two weeks.

In addition to Sirsa, eight fresh cases were reported from Faridabad, three from Gurgaon, four from Jhajjar and one from Sonipat, as per a state Health Department bulletin.

Haryana has maintained that many of the coronavirus cases in its NCR districts have their origins in infections emanating from the national capital and the authorities had ordered sealing of the districts with Delhi to check the spread of the infection.

The worst-affected districts of the state are Faridabad (61), Nuh (58), Gurgaon (57), Palwal (34), Sonipat (26), Jhajjar (28) and Panchkula (18).

According to the health bulletin, the number of active cases in the state is 112 while 241 patients have been discharged so far. The rate of doubling of cases in the state is 20 days.

The state has recorded four COVID-related deaths, it said.

The number of samples sent for testing stands at 30,191, out of which reports of 2,050 are awaited.

Among the 24 foreign nationals who tested positive, 14 were the Italian tourists and later 13 of them were discharged while one elderly woman in the group had passed away last month even though she had recovered from the coronavirus infection.

The other 10 foreign nationals found positive are from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesia while 64 are from other states, the bulletin stated.