Record one-day spike in cases takes Uttarakhand COVID-19 tally to 88

Uttarakhand reported six COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the highest single-day spike so far, bringing the virus count to 88, a state health department bulletin said.

Four of the fresh cases were reported from Dehradun district and two from Udham Singh Nagar district, the bulletin said.

The two patients from US Nagar district had returned from Maharashtra and Haryana, it said.

There has been an abrupt rise in the novel coronavirus cases in Uttarakhand ever since migrants began returning in droves from different parts of the country including highly-infected states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, health officials here said.

The fresh cases from Dehradun comprise a 32-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man, a 15-year-old boy and a 10-year-old boy.

The two patients from US Nagar district are both men aged 18.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat held a meeting with officials on Saturday to review the COVID-19 situation in the state and asked them to keep a track of where the returning migrants are being quarantined so that their health could be monitored.

Thermal screening arrangements should also be made in districts where the migrants are being sent, Rawat said.

He asked the officials to ensure that people wear face masks and follow social distancing norms.

Uttarakhand has seen one coronavirus death, while 51 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection, leaving 36 active cases in the state.