Forty-five deaths in the past 72 hours, of which 13, highest ever in a single day on Wednesday, has put Himachal Pradesh on high alert.
The health authorities fear that the cases will see a further spike in the next few days during the winter.
Those who have lost their lives, during the past some days, are mainly persons with comorbidities in the age group of 62 to 85 years.
However, the youngest was a 31-year-old male while a 19-year-old female had died on Tuesday in Shimla.
The districts of Mandi, Shimla and Kullu are the three big hot spots showing the highest cases of infections, though the state government had already ordered the closure of the schools, which were reopened only this month.
Taking a strong view of the spike in the cases, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has made a strong appeal to the people to take due precautions.
One of the factors causing the spread of the infection and moralities is wedding parties and social functions where the people are gathering in huge numbers.
Some of the persons tested positive during the past week also included those who had either attended the wedding functions or cremation gatherings in the villages.
Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to issue a new protocol for the Covid to scale down social and political gatherings because of high fatality rate.
“A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by CM Jai Ram Thakur. Senior bureaucrats confirmed that the attendance at social gatherings, including weddings, will again be restricted to 100 instead of the present 200” said a senior official of the home department.
The total number of cases in Himachal Pradesh has risen to 31,401 and total deaths 468.
Senior Congress leaders G S Bali on Wednesday accused the state government of complete failure to handle the spread of the infection. He particularly referred to frequently touring of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who was holding a large political gathering in the districts, where hundreds of BJP workers and government employees are invited, resulting in the dangerous spread of the infection.
