Himachal Pradesh faces a challenge of sorts in ‘unlock 1.0’ with COVID-19 with positive cases constantly on the rise over last month.

Even though the number of cases in HP may still not be very high so far (445 positive cases, 184 active cases and five deaths) compared to other states, the visible casual attitude of authorities and people towards mandatory face masks, social distancing and other norms in market and workplaces may not augur well in the days to come.

Especially as Himachal, which was almost on the verge of getting corona free in the first week of May with just one active case left with half of the state in the green zone then, has already had a taste of gaps in strategy as well as implementation on ground to check the spread of coronavirus.

As it happened, barring a few districts, the authorities could not ensure proper institutional or home quarantine for 1.70 lakh people, who returned from outside after 25 April, partially for lack of infrastructure and administrative lapses.

While the government did not segregate the arrivals in phases and zone wise initially, testing and quarantine mechanism on the inter-state border during lockdown from 24 March to 25 April was also not put in place, before it allowed people to enter from other states, an allegation that opposition Congress has gone loud with.

More so, the small state could not check the culture of ‘political’ recommendations even in COVID-19 crisis with proximities weighing more than protocol in decision to send people in institutional or home quarantine in many cases. (The number of people home quarantined was over 80,000).

Mainly, because the institutional quarantine facility in Himachal was not up to the mark at many places with poor toilet facilities.

Sources said the mixing allegedly wasted the state’s laudable effort of Active Case Finding campaign, wherein it screened the locals going door to door for COVID-19 symptoms before the arrivals, as positive cases are trickling in from those ‘home quarantined’ now and then.

Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur, however, categorically said that since it was an unprecedented crisis, there may have been shortcomings. “Overall we have done well. The Prime Minister too praised us,” he said. He said the government had to take care of the humane angle in bringing back the students and other people, who lost their jobs and were in extreme trouble, from outside.

“We brought 1.70 lakh people from outside. Some more are arriving now on their own. The cases had to increase as people came here from red zones also. But we took care of proper quarantine. There are no gaps on the ground,” he said. He said the death rate in HP is 1.52 per cent against the national average of 2.48 per cent.

Officials in the field find that positive cases from ‘home quarantined’ people ( as follow up of home quarantined cases was allegedly not up to the mark) and the carelessness in maintaining social distancing in market and work place are the two major concerns for Himachal in the days to come.