Thirty-three more NIT Hamirpur students test positive for COVID-19

Thirty-three more students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total count of students infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus in the institute to 173 in hardly four days, an official from the engineering college said.

The institute in Hamirpur was already declared a 'mini containment zone' on January 7 to check the spread of the virus. A total of 42 students of NIT Hamirpur tested positive for COVID-19 on January 6, 39 on January 7 and 59 on the next day, the official said.

Apart from the 32 NIT students, 42 other people, including three students of ITI Bani, tested positive for COVID-19 in Hamirpur district on January 8, the official said.

Meanwhile, a district health official said that Covid test was made mandatory in the hospitals of Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district even for those who visit health facilities for ailments other than COVID-19. This order has been issued in wake of the spurt in the Covid cases in the district in general and in educational institutions in particular.

This step has raised the number of active cases to 305 in the district. All of them have been quarantined at their places.

The official said that in all 656 samples were tested on January 8 and the results of 75 of them came out positive. The number of total confirmed cases in the district has risen to 18,393 as against 17,799 recoveries, he added.

Hamirpur Medical College Hospital Medical Superintendent Ramesh Chauhan said the new order has led to the detection of more Covid-positive people during the last two days and it would help the department contain the virus spreading in the community.

The number of active cases in the district has gone up to 305 from hardly 50 in the last week.