How a Himalayan community kept Covid-19 under check Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in coronavirus infections in the district of Lahaul and Spiti. Jan 25, 2021 · 09:30 pm The medical team at Kwaring village of Lahaul tests for Covid-19 during winter in the high Himalayas. | Rakesh Parihar/ The Third Pole At the start of December 2020, 13.75% of Covid-19 tests were positive in Lahaul and Spiti. The remote tribal district had one of the highest infection rates in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. On October 3, as the pandemic intensified across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Rohtang Tunnel, enabling year-round movement of people and goods between the neighbouring district of Kullu and Lahaul valley. In the following weeks, Covid-19 cases flared up in many villages.