The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to restrict the entry of people in the state again, only after witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases in Himachal after arrival of around 2 lakh Himachalis back home since 25 April.

The state has seen more than 100 cases of COVID-19 in the last three days, 44 in one single day, raising an alarm of sorts, forcing the government to limit the entry of people from outside.

“The e-passes would now be given only on medical grounds or in case of death,” Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur told the officials and deputy commissioners last evening.

Thakur said that the home quarantine mechanism would be made more effective and constant vigil will be kept on the people, so that nobody jumps home quarantine.

He said that more facilities of institution quarantine must be created so as to ensure that there was no dearth of beds, if in any case the number of people with ILI symptoms increases.

The total coronavirus positive cases in the state were 727 last evening, with 279 of them active. There have been six deaths so far.

There were 40 COVID-19 cases in the state in first week of May, and just one active case left, as after the nationwide lockdown from 24 March and curfew in state, the government had not allowed people to come back and had told them to stay wherever they are in the interest of public health.

However, with people calling in distress and the opposition Congress also making it a major issue, the government took a sympathetic view of the people stuck outside in COVID-19 crisis and facilitated the comeback of around two lakh Himachalis during lockdown.

This led to rise in COVID-19 cases, in the institutional quarantine as well as the home quarantine. Few cases were reported without travel history in Kangra and Hamirpur, which raised doubts about the community spread- which the government has so far denied.

Official sources said while there was resentment over the government’s stance to bring back people in state without proper set up of testing and quarantine at the border, the government kept allowing people quite liberally all these days.

There was a general feeling in the state that people, who desperately wanted to come back due to compulsion, the students or those who lost their jobs, have already arrived now and the government must now restrict e-passes for entry from other states to control the situation.

The CM has, although, been mentioning that the situation is under control in HP compared with other states, the sharp increase in cases in the last few days has actually worried the government.