Seven-yr-old girl among 7 new COVID-19 cases in HP; tally rises to 75

Seven more persons, including a minor girl, confirmed positive for coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, taking the number of cases in the state to 75, officials said.

Besides the seven-year-old girl, the fresh cases include three women and as many men, Special Secretary (Health) Nipun Jindal said.

The cases were reported two each from Sirmaur, Kangra and Bilaspur districts and one from Hamirpur district, he said.

A 39-year-old man who was quarantined at Bilaspur's Swarghat area on the HP-Punjab border has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Jindal said.

A resident of Karohta village in Hamirpur's Bhoranj tehsil, the man had come from Ahmedabad and was quarantined in a relief camp at Hill Top Hotel of Tourism at Swarghat, he added.

Similarly, a 43-year-old man quarantined at PWD rest house at Bilaspur's Naina Devi has tested positive. He is a primary contact of a Delhi driver who had been earlier tested positive and was admitted at Covid Hospital Medical College in Mandi, Jindal said.

Besides, a 55-year-old man from Hamirpur's Tauni Devi has tested positive. He is a primary contact of his 50-year-old brother-in-law from Bajrol area, who is under treatment at RCH, Bhota, he said.

A 57-year-old woman from Sheela Chowk in Kangra's Dharamshala tested positive for the dreaded virus at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) Thursday evening, Jindal said.

She had come with three other people from Delhi two days ago and was admitted to a hospital with severe acute respiratory illness, he said.

A 24-year-old woman who recently returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai tested positive for the virus at RPGMC. She had returned to the hill state with her two family members and a Nadaun resident from Mumbai, the officials said.

On Wednesday night, a 30-year-old woman and her daughter from Sirmaur's Paonta Sahib tested positive for COVID-19, Special Secretary (Health) Nipun Jindal said on Thursday.

The two had returned from Delhi on May 4, he added.

The woman and her daughter were quarantined after they had returned to Paonta Sahib on May 4 and their samples were taken for testing on May 12, Sirmaur Deputy Commissioner R K Pruthi said, adding both of them were asymptomatic.

A total of 706 people have returned to Sirmaur district from various red zones, Pruthi said.

Of these 706 people, samples of 541 were taken for tests, he added.

With the new seven cases, the COVID-19 tally in the state rose to 75. Three people have lost their lives due to the disease.

There are 33 active cases in the state, while 39 people have recovered.

Thirteen active cases are in Kangra, six in Chamba, five in Hamirpur, four in Bilaspur, two in Sirmaur and one each in Mandi, Una and Shimla.