"A total of 42,323 persons are put under home quarantine in Kangra district till Tuesday and the figure will be added with another 1,000 today as the incoming public is coming from other states," said Rakesh Prajapati, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra.
Though the incoming arrival of public to Kangra district from other states has come down over the last few days, the DC said that nearly 8,000 people are still expected to come which will take the number of returnees to around 50,000.
He said the capacity of sample testing is currently 150 a day at Dr R P Medical College, Tanda but it will be increased to 300 on Thursday and further to 450 in a couple of days.
The DC said, "Till date 1,650 samples in the district were tested in Tanda (RPGMC) and 15 people were tested positive. Five of them have recovered and returned back to their homes while 10 tested positive after the government allowed stranded people to come back from other states."
Prajapati said, "There is only one death registered due to COVID-19 in the district so far, whereas 958 people lost their lives due to other reasons in the district in a period from April 24 to May 8."
Yet, he added that the authorities are expecting a further rise in coronavirus cases in the district as many people are coming from outside and are ready to tackle it.
He said that the zonal hospital has been divided into two blocks - one for Covid and the other for OPD - similarly 10 hospitals are operating in the district for checking flu for enabling the serious cases to visit there.
The DC warned that those who are found breaking home quarantine shall be taken to institutional quarantine and shall be fined Rs 5,000. CORR HDA