Three suspected coronavirus cases in Himachal so far, CM tells assembly

Three suspected cases of coronavirus have been reported in Himachal Pradesh so far while 214 people were kept under observation at their homes for 28 days, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told the state assembly on Wednesday.

The CM said while no confirmed coronavirus case has been reported from the state, 181 people from those kept under observation have completed their mandatory surveillance period.

The CM told the House that the three suspected coronavirus patients in the state were admitted to two hospital on Tuesday.

They had travelled to high-risk countries in the past 14 days and had complained of sore throat and fever.

One of them was admitted to an isolation ward in Shimla's Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and the two others have been kept under observation at Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College Hospital in Kangra's Tanda.

The two patients admitted to the Tanda hospital had travelled to Italy whereas third patient came from South Korea on February 29, he added.

The samples of all three patients have been sent to a Delhi laboratory for testing.

The CM said the Centre had sent a list of 145 persons for keeping an eye from the coronavirus point of view on February 3.

The district health officers kept all of them under surveillance.

After this, 67 people, including several foreigners, reported themselves.

The two people, who came from Wuhan, were reported by the Centre on February 18 and 22, he added.

Earlier in the day, the Opposition Congress walked out of the assembly as an adjournment motion was not allowed to discuss the issue of coronavirus.

Speaker Vipin Parmar informed the House before the question hour thatLeader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri had submitted a notice under Rule 67 to discuss the coronavirus issue but Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has decided to give a statement on it.

As soon as he told the CM to give his statement, the Congress legislators opposed it.

Agnihotri said the state government is not prepared to deal with the situation emerging out of the coronavirus outbreak.

"It is a serious matter and it needs to be discussed on a priority," he added.

The Congress MLAs were adamant on their demand for a discussion through an adjournment motion and said they should be allowed to speak first as they had given the notice.

The House witnessed heated arguments. Later, raising slogans against the government, the opposition staged a walkout.

At this, the CM condemned the walkout and said the opposition party tries to politicise every issue.

The Congress members don't understand the seriousness and sensitivity of the issue, he added.

"The test reports for suspected Coronavirus patients have not been received yet and the Congress is acting as if there is an outbreak of coronavirus in the state," he said.

The Congress is expected to support the government on this issue but it is not doing so, he added.