Bhushan Thakur said he followed all coronavirus security measures.
Chandigarh:
All but one resident of a remote village in the Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month in one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the mountainous region where temperatures have dropped below zero.
While 41 people tested positive in Thorang village, Bhushan Thakur, 52, said he managed to avoid infection simply by following basic safety measures.
“The main reason I tested negative was because I wear a mask and disinfectant and maintain social distancing,” he said.
“Six people in my family are also positive. I have isolated myself from them, I cook my own food and they are in a different room. The main reason for the spread of the coronavirus here is the cold because it makes most people huddle a room in front of the fireplace, “he added.
Lahaul-Spiti District Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Rai said: “The population of the village is around 160. Due to the winter, the people of the village moved to other places. Therefore, the remaining 42 were they did the tests on November 13, of which 41 were positive. “
Most of the residents of Thorang village had migrated elsewhere during the winters, and 41 of the 42 remaining people contracted the coronavirus.
The villagers were tested again on Saturday and some of them have now tested negative, he said.
According to Rai, a religious gathering was held in the village on October 13 and that may have been the reason for the spread of the infection.
“We cannot determine the exact reason, but due to the change in weather conditions the movement of people increased and perhaps that could also be one of the reasons,” he added.
ML Bandhu, a government doctor in the district, said: “All the people who tested positive are fine. No one is in serious condition. But we have asked for a door-to-door survey to find out if anyone has comorbidities.”
In early October, 39 residents of the village of Rangrik in the Spiti Valley tested positive for the infection.
Many Lahaul-Spiti residents generally migrate to neighboring Kullu district in the winter due to the extreme cold, a district official said.
A total of 890 people from the Lahaul-Spiti district, representing about 2.83 percent of its population of about 31,500, have been infected with coronavirus so far, according to state department data. Of these, 479 have been cured while 406 are still recovering from the disease. Five people have died.
More than 33,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus to date in Himachal Pradesh and the state is slowly opening up to tourists. Of these, 518 have died, more than 26,000 have been cured and the number of active cases is 7,070.
.
