Inter-state movement regulations to continue in Himachal Pradesh, but process to be made simpler: Thakur

Thakur said that people accompanying patients or students/candidates who need to move in and out of the state due to competitive examinations will not need to undergo quarantine if they exit and re-enter the state or vice-versa within 72 hours.

He said that around 2.14 lakh people have been tested for the novel coronavirus in Himachal till date out of whom 6,116 have been found positive. There are 87.3 cases per lakh people in the state while the national average is 267.7 cases per lakh population, he said.

“The death rate in Himachal is 0.58 per hundred cases which is quite low as compared to the national average of 1.7 per hundred Covid cases,” said the CM. As per the latest health bulletin, there have been 36 Covid-related deaths in the state while a few other Covid patients have passed away after being referred to the PGI hospital in neighbouring Chandigarh.

Addressing the deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and chief medical officers through video conferencing from Shimla, Thakur said that industrial units in the state must be asked to create their own quarantine facilities with a minimum capacity of 10 per cent of the total employee strength. Small industrial units must be encouraged to create such facilities by pooling, he said.

He added that the state government is contemplating to open temples in the state soon for which an SOP would be prepared to facilitate the devotees. Life of the coronavirus during the rainy season is longer as per medical experts, he said, and therefore, people must exercise greater caution against the pandemic.