Entire village in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul found COVID-19 positive, except one man

Despite widely-advertised measures to tackle COVID-19 pandemic, the entire population, except one person, of Thorang village at Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh has been tested positive for coronavirus.

Bhushan Thakur (52) was the only person found COVID-19 negative.

The outspread is being linked to a religious programme which was held few days back. The social gathering is being blamed for the community transmission, sources say. People from the surrounding areas are also feared covid-19 positive, a report in The Times of India said.

The administration has restricted tourism movement to Teling nullah near the north portal of the Rohtang Tunnel to avoid the spread. Moreover, tourists weren’t allowed to enter Lahaul villages on Thursday as the village beyond Rohtang Tunnel has been turned into containment zones.

According to officials, Thorang village along the Manali-Leh highway has just 42 residents as most people have migrated to Kullu for winter. The villagers had voluntarily decided to get tested a few days back. Of the total 42 samples, 41 tested positive.

“I am staying in a separate room and have been cooking my meals for the last four days. I was with y family members until we got to know about the results. However, I was strict about the protocols like sanitising hands, wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing in public areas. People should not take this disease lightly,” Bhushan, whose five family members were tested positive reportedly said.

The rising cases in Lahaul Spiti villages have become a matter of concern for officials as 856 people have been found positive so far in the district.