Dharamshala: As a second wave of coronavirus infections sweeps across USA and Europe, district magistrates in Himachal Pradesh have started preparing up to tackle a second spread in the state before intense winter sets in.
Rakesh Prajapati, district magistrate of Kangra spelt out his plans for containing Covid infections during the winter months. “The administration has roped in NGOs to help in identify people with symptoms of Coronavirus infections,” he said.
“As far as testing of government employees for Covid, we are already on the job. Thousands of employees having public interaction, including police persons, school teachers and other have been tested in the past 15 days across the district. This is helping the authorities in reducing the chances of the disease spread,” said Prajapati.
The magistrate disclosed that since the outbreak of the pandemic Kangra has registered about 3100 Covid positive cases and as many as 71 victims have lost their lives.
“Of the about 2000 tests being conducted on a daily basis, we are finding about 30 to 50 positive cases,” he said, “which is a considerable reduction in positivity rate.
Prajapati, who himself was hospitalized and recovered from the virus infection confessed that he caught the infection due to some lapses in not taking enough protective measures.
“One may not have any symptom of the disease but as a carrier one can pass on the infection to others which can become fatal to a person with co-morbidities, ” he said emphasising the need for everybody to wear masks, maintain social distancing and about washing the hands on a regular basis.
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
