Himachal's Kinnaur reports first virus cases as state tally rises to 361

 A couple in Himachal's remote Kinnaur has contracted coronavirus, the first cases in the district, as the state reported 15 fresh infections, pushing the COVID tally to 361 on Wednesday.

Barring Lahaul-Spiti, now 11 of the 12 districts in the state have infection cases. So far, six people have succumbed to the virus in Himachal Pradesh.

Ten people including six from Kangra, two each from Una and Chamba also recovered from the infection today, Special Secretary (Health) Nipun Jindal said.

According to officials, the Kinnaur couple -- a 45-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife -- had returned from Delhi on a bus on May 27.

Samples of their 10-year-old child will be taken again for testing, Chief Medical Officer Dr Sonam Negi said, adding that they were institutionally quarantined at Urni.

They are now being shifted to a dedicated COVID care centre in Reckong Peo.

At least eleven of the fresh patients had returned from other states. Six of them came from Delhi, two each from Punjab and Maharashtra's Mumbai and one from Madhya Pradesh, the officials said.

Four of the fresh cases were reported from Kangra, two each from Kinnaur, Bilaspur, Mandi and Hamirpur, and one each from Shimla, Chamba and Una, they added.

In Bilaspur, a Delhi-returned 31-year-old man from Solan district has contracted the infection, an official said.

The man came from Delhi in his car and was stopped by police at Garha-Morh on the HP-Punjab border and quarantined at Swarghat, he added.

Another case from Bilaspur tested positive on Wednesday evening at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla, IGMC senior medical superintendent Dr. Janak Raj said.

A total of 364 samples were received for testing today, 362 came back negative, one from Bilaspur tested positive, while one test remained inconclusive, he added.

In Shimla, a man from the Taklech area of Rampur Bushahr tested positive, Rampur SDM Narendra Chauhan said.

The SDM said the man had come from Delhi along with the Kinnaur couple on May 27. He was quarantined at the SJVN, Kotla, and being shifted to Mashobra.

In Kangra, a 22-year-old man who arrived on an Air India flight from Delhi on May 29 and institutionally quarantined at Fatehpur, tested positive for COVID-19, the special secretary said.

Besides, a 30-year-old asymptomatic man from Badhal village in Fatehpur, who returned from Madhya Pradesh on May 27 and was quarantined at Sansarpur Terrace; and a 31-year-old man who came back from Punjab''s Pathankot on May 28 and was home quarantined at Gangath, tested positive, Jindal added.

The official said a 25-year-old man from Golwan in Fatehpur tehsil also tested positive. He violated the containment zone orders.

Two infection cases were detected in Hamirpur district. A 30-year-old man who recently returned from Delhi was found infected with the virus. The other patient is a 25-year-old man who came back from Punjab's Mohali.

In Mandi Sundernagar, two men, aged 23 and 26, tested positive for the virus. They had returned from Mumbai, a district official said.

The number of coronavirus cases in the state has risen to 361, officials said, adding that the number of active patients is 205. As many as 150 patients have recovered so far.

Hamirpur has the highest number of active cases in the state at 74, followed by 54 in Kangra, 18 in Solan, 16 in Una, 12 each in Bilaspur and Chamba, eight in Shimla, seven in Mandi, two in Kinnaur and one each in Kullu and Sirmaur.