30 new COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh take tally to 1,244

Thirty more people, including a man who returned from Kuwait, tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, taking the tally in the state to 1,244, officials said.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said 21 fresh cases were reported from Solan, four from Hamirpur, three from Kangra and one each from Shimla and Mandi districts.

In Hamirpur, a 37-year-old man from Galore, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said.

He added that the man had returned from Kuwait on July 5 and was under institutional quarantine.

The others in Hamirpur who tested positive are a 39-year-old man who returned from Arunachal Pradesh, a man who returned from Mumbai and a 53-year-old woman who returned from Delhi, Meena said.  In Kangra, three men, including two members of a family, who returned from Delhi-NCR tested positive, Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati said.

They are a 53-year-old man and his 21-year-old son who returned from Noida and a 32-year-old man who returned from Delhi. They are being shifted to the Baijnath dedicated COVID care centre, he said.

In Mandi, a 50-year-old taxi driver of Harad Bhed village who returned from Delhi has tested positive, a district official said.

The virus has claimed 10 lives in Himachal Pradesh, while 927 people have recovered and 13 have migrated out of the state, the officials said.

Eleven more patients -- eight in Hamirpur, two in Una, one in Kangra -- have recovered from the infection, Dhiman said.  The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state now stands at 292, he said.

Solan has the highest number of active cases in the state at 105, followed by 44 in Kangra, 31 in Hamirpur, 28 in Kinnaur, 27 in Una, 16 in Shimla, 14 in Bilaspur, nine in Chamba, eight in Mandi, six in Sirmaur, three in Kullu and one in Lahaul-Spiti, Dhiman said.