Haryana: 3 fresh COVID-19 cases reported, total cases rise to 156

While dozens of COVID-19 cases were reported in Haryana over the past few days, there were only three fresh cases in the state on Thursday that took the total number of coronavirus patients to 156, according to the state health department.

While two cases were reported from Panchkula, Kaithal district reported one case, as per the health department bulletin.

Health Minister Anil Vij once again said the spike in positive cases was due to a number of people testing positive after they attended the Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation in Delhi last month.

There are 134 active coronavirus patients in the state out of which 106 are the Tablighi Jamaat members, he said.

"We want to assure people of Haryana that we will succeed in our fight against the virus. It is the result of our strict vigil and management that we had cases under control despite a large number of people returning from abroad in recent times. Had the spike in cases not been because of Tablighi Jamaat members, we would have controlled it effectively," Vij said.

He said those who came from abroad numbered more than 15,000 and they were quarantined to stop the disease from spreading.

On April 8, Haryana had reported 24 fresh cases and a day earlier 33 new cases were reported.

At present, there are 136 active COVID-19 cases in the state, while 18 patients have been discharged after treatment. The state has recorded two COVID-19-related deaths. Reports of pending samples increased from 612 a day earlier to 791 on Thursday.

Among the total coronavirus cases reported in Haryana, 10 are foreign nationals while 61 are from other states, as per the health department.

The worst-affected districts of the state are Gurugram (32), Nuh (38 cases), Palwal (28) and Faridabad (28).