Nine new COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh, tally 291

Nine more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Friday, taking the number of coronavirus cases in the state to 291, officials said.

Of the fresh cases, five were reported from Hamirpur and four from Kangra, they said, adding that all of them had recently returned from other states.

Four of them had returned from Maharashtra, two each from Gujarat and Delhi, and one from Rajasthan, the officials added.

A 31-year-old man and his 28-year-old wife tested positive for the virus in Hamirpur, Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said.

The couple had recently returned from Ahmedabad and was quarantined at a college in Nadaun, the DC said.

A 34-year-old man quarantined at a school in Bakarti, a 32-year-old woman quarantined at a Nadaun hotel and a 57-year-old man quarantined at a Laliyar school also tested positive, he said.

Their samples were taken on May 26 and their reports arrived on Friday morning, he added.

Meena said they were being shifted to district COVID care centres.

Hamirpur now has 98 COVID-19 cases, over one-third of the total reported in Himachal Pradesh, a senior district official said, adding that 88 of these are active and one person has died of the disease.

In Kangra, three people quarantined in Parour and one person under home quarantine in Thural have tested positive, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said.

With this, the count in Kangra district rises to 73. Fifty-two of these are active cases, 20 patients have recovered and one has died.

The number of active cases in the state now stands at 208. While 77 COVID-19 patients have recovered, six have died.

Hamirpur has the highest number of active cases at 88, followed by 52 in Kangra, 15 in Una, 14 in Solan, 11 in Bilaspur, nine each in Chamba and Mandi, seven in Shimla, two in Sirmaur and one in Kullu.