Shimla, Dec 9 : Himachal Pradesh Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj on Wednesday wrote to the home quarantined Covid-19 patients and advised them not to panic. The minister also cited his own experience with the coronavirus. Bhardwaj, who is a legislator from Shimla, said there is a sudden spurt in the Covid-19 cases in the state and around 1,000 people are quarantined at home as of now. The minister has dispatched letters to people battling Covid-19 and isolated at home as well as to the families of those who died of the virus in Shimla district. In the letter, the minister said that doctors and paramedical staff are doing an exceptional job in serving the people. Citing his own experience with Covid-19, the minister said that he and his family members also got infected with Covid-19 and have recovered now. "I am with you in these difficult pandemic times. I can feel the suffering as my family and I were also infected with coronavirus sometime ago. With my own experience I advice not to panic and follow the directions given by the doctors," the letter read. He also assured that the Centre as well as the state governments have been taking adequate steps to battle the virus. Recently, the minister also visited a Covid-19 facility here and spoke with the patients. He also told the patients to call him directly if they face any issue. In the letter dispatched to the Covid-19 patients, contact numbers and email IDs of Bhardwaj were also mentioned. /IANS