The Himachal Pradesh government on Monday extended the Covid-induced curfew in the state till May 31.
Noting that the state has reported a decline in the number of Covid-19 infections, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said the extension of curfew will help in breaking the infection cycle.
The cabinet will decide on future course of action on June 1, an official said.
Vouching for the extension of the curfew, state health officials informed the cabinet that while the number of active cases is steadily declining, the number of fatalities is still high in the state.
Officials close to the CM said, that though Thakur is under immense pressure from local traders to lift the curfew, health officials advised him against it stating that it will be a regressive step.
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Meanwhile, according to the state health ministry data, Himachal’s Covid positivity rate has dipped from 38.1 per cent to 19.5 per cent during the last seven days.
While Kangra district’s positivity rate dropped to 25.6 per cent, Hamirpur and Mandi districts’ positivity rate has dipped to 23.9 per cent and 22.6 per cent, respectively.
The weekly new cases have also decreased, with the state reporting just 18,794 new infections during the last week, while it had logged 28,817 new cases during the week prior to that.
Meanwhile, as of May 23, Himachal has reported 2,752 Covid fatalities of which 61.2 per cent were male. The mean age of the deceased is 61.9 years.
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Among the total deaths, 50.9 per cent cases were due to co-morbidities. Majority of the comorbidities include Diabetes Mellitus 668 (49.5%), Hypertension 608 (45%), Chronic Kidney Disease 129 (9.5%) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 95 (7%).
