Delhi truck driver tests positive for COVID-19 after death, HP tally 519

A 19-year-old truck driver from Delhi, who died in an accident in Shimla, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus as the state's tally rose to 519 with 16 new infections, an official said on Sunday.

Five fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Bilaspur, followed by four from Kangra, three from Una, two from Shimla, and one each from Solan and Chamba, they said.

The man from Delhi had suffered injuries while unloading goods in Shimla on Saturday night, following which he was taken to the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), where he died a few hours later.

He tested positive for the coronavirus in a cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) conducted at the hospital after his death, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, R D Dhiman said.

However, his death has not been included in the state record of COVID-19 fatalities as he died due to trauma, the officials said.

Doctors, paramedical staff and other people who came in his contact have been quarantined and their samples will soon be tested for COVID-19, another health official said.

The casualty ward, where the man breathed his last, has been sealed for sanitisation as per protocol, he added.

In Kangra, four people -- including three women who had recently returned from Delhi-NCR -- tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday, a district official said.

Six COVID-19 patients, including a 47-year-old man and his nine-year-old son of Nurpur, recovered from the infection on Sunday, he said, adding they were being discharged with advice of a seven-day home quarantine.

The number of those who have recovered from the disease so far in the state is 315, while 11 COVID-19 patients have migrated out of the state, officials said.

Seven people have died due to the infection in the state. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 185, he added. Kangra district has the highest number of active cases in the state at 61, followed by Hamirpur (34), Una (27), Sirmaur (13), Bilaspur (12), Solan (11), Shimla and Chamba (9 each), Mandi (5), Kullu and Kinnaur (two each).