Shimla, Aug 26 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday recorded 167 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the infection tally to 5,322, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 31 with two more fatalities.

The total number of active cases in the state stands at 1,428, Shimla Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said.

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Of the latest fatalities, one each was reported from Kangra and Chamba districts.

A 45-year-old woman of Pharer village in Palampur tehsil succumbed to the virus in Kangra's Tanda medical college Wednesday morning, a district official said.

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She was admitted in the hospital with post surgical complications on August 12 and tested positive for COVID-19 on August 24.

Besides a 62-year-old man, who had tested positive in Chamba district, migrated out of the state and died in Punjab's Amritsar, a district official said.

Of the total fatalities linked to COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh, Mandi and Solan each account for maximum deaths (seven) followed by six in Kangra, four each in Hamirpur and Chamba, two in Shimla and one in Sirmaur.

The total COVID-19 fatality count in the hill state includes that of a 70-year-old Delhi woman, who had stayed at a factory guest house in Baddi in Solan. She died at the PGIMER in Chandigarh on April 2.

The state health department initially showed her death in its records but it stopped doing so later, stating that according to protocols, her death should be included in Chandigarh, where she had tested positive for the disease.

On the contrary, authorities in Chandigarh said the death of the woman should be included in the records of Himachal Pradesh, from where she was referred.

Of the 167 fresh cases, 58 were reported from Sirmaur, 29 from Solan, 16 from Bilaspur, 15 from Shimla, 13 from Chamba, 12 each from Una and Kullu, 11 from Kangra and one from Kinnaur, Dhiman said.

As many as 62 more COVID-19 patients-- 31 in Solan, 16 in Sirmaur, seven in Una, four in Chamba and two each in Mandi and Bilaspur-- have recovered from the infection, he said.

With this, the total number of recoveries in the state has risen to 3,810, Dhiman said, adding that 51 patients have migrated out of the state.

Solan has the highest number of active cases in the state at 404 followed by Sirmaur (197), Kangra (157), Bilaspur (122), Una (103), Mandi (97), Kullu (97), Chamba (96), Shimla (71), Hamirpur (59), Kinnaur (23) and Lahaul-Spiti (2), the official added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)