Ex Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh's Aides Test Covid-19 Positive, Family Shifts Out Of Shimla

Coronavirus cases have been going up in Himachal Pradesh, putting the health machinery of the hill state in winter's spell under strain. Now, the personal security officer (PSO) of six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, 86, as also two other members of his staff have tested positive for Covid-19.

Singh's former principal advisor T G Negi and member of his escort team has also tested positive, reports said. Medical teams were rushed to Singh's residence Holly Lodge in Shimla's Jakhu Hills to collect samples of Singh, his wife and former MP, Pratibha Singh and son Vikramaditya Singh, who is a sitting MLA from Shimla. Health secretary Amitabh Awasthi told Outlook Singh and his entire family has tested negative.

But as a precaution the Virbhadra family has shifted to Solan to avoid contact with visitors at Holly Lodge. Singh had been taking all precautions of social distancing and avoiding travels for some months. He had asked Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to drop holding the state assembly session at Dharamshala due to the pandemic.

On December 4, Himachal Pradesh saw the highest single day load of 805 fresh cases and 15 deaths, eight in Shimla district alone. Shimla has already been declared as the country’s biggest corona hotspot with an 183 percent rise in the cases in November. The number of cases in the state has gone up to 43, 500. Around 370 doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab assistants and other staff of Indira Gandhi Medical College and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya hospital in Shimla, plus 1,468 police personnel, have tested positive so far.