Srinagar: Coronavirus positive cases continued to maintain an upward curve in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday with a total of 19 additions in the last 24 hours, taking the aggregate number of infected cases in the J&K to 94.
This is the biggest single-day jump in the number of cases in the J&K so far with 16 of the fresh cases reported from Kashmir Valley and three from Udhampur district in Jammu division.
There have been two deaths due to the disease so far in the Kashmir Valley and four patients have been discharged from hospitals including 3 from Jammu and one from Kashmir—the first COVID-19 patients, a 67-year-old from Khaniyar Srinagar.
Official sources said among the fresh cases include six from Kupwara, four from Bandipora and three from Baramulla in north Kashmir while two are from southern Shopian and one from Pulwama districts.
Of them, eight are admitted to Government Medical College Baramulla, five in SKIMS Soura and three to Chest Disease Hospital, one of Kashmir COVID-19 management facility.
Among the six persons from Kupwara includes a 66-year-old man, his 56-year-old wife and their 27-year-old son and they are residents of Heeri area of the frontier district. They along with two others—52-year-old woman from Magam Handwara and 55-year-old woman from Chogul Handwara—had returned from Bangladesh and stayed at Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi before returning to Valley recently.
The sixth case is a 62-year-old resident of Tangdhar who had returned from Bhopal and also stayed at Nizamuddin Markaz for around a week before returning home on March 16.
“All of them have history of stay at Markaz Nizamuddin Delhi. All of these were already under quarantine but as per protocol, contact tracing is being carried out on a war footing. All of them are doing well by God’s grace and we wish them a speedy recovery,” Deputy Commissioner Kupwara Anshul Garg said.
Sub divisional Magistrate Tanghdar Bilal said that the sexagenarian man from Tangdhar was placed under quarantine as soon as he reached home and on next day he was placed under administrative quarantine. He said all his primary contacts, 11 of them, have been also quarantined.
The four cases from Bandipora include 48-year-old and 42-year-old men who had travel to Jammu and participated in a religious function while two others—30-year-old man and 15-year-old teen are contacts of previous COVID-19 patients.
Regarding Baramulla cases, Deputy Commissioner Dr G N Itoo said that they are relatives of the COVID-19 teacher whose father died of the disease recently. The trio includes teacher’s wife, their 8-year-old daughter and a 25-year-old relative.
A senior officer of district administration Shopian revealed that a couple who had returned from Saudi Arabia on March 16 tested positive and their samples test reports were received from Chest Disease (CD) hospital.
Regarding man from south Kashmir whose test report came positive at CD hospital, sources said he is a resident Sangarwani area of Pulwama and had come in contact with a COVID-19 patient, a Tablighi Jamaat member.
Earlier three persons tested positive in Udhampur district of Jammu division.
“Three more positive cases reported today from Narsoo, Udhampur. All contacts of a positive patient from Udhampur with travel history abroad,” Principal Secretary Planning, Information and Government Spokesperson, Rohit Kansal tweeted.
Professor Farooq Jan, Medical Superintendent SKIMS said that 42 sample reports were received today and among them 13 tested positive. Eight of these sample pertained to GMC Baramulla. The remaining 29 reports came out to be negative. He said 31 fresh samples were received and 10 more persons with symptoms like COVID-19 were admitted to hospital.
Medical Superintendent CD hospital Mohammad Saleem Tak said that five more suspected persons were admitted besides 60 samples from different hospitals were received today. He said seven of the COVID-19 patients tested negative. “This is good news that patients are responding to the treatment and seven of them whose tests came out to be negative are being moved to quarantine facility,” he added.
As per officials, out of these 94 COVID-19-affected people, 73 are in Kashmir and 21 in Jammu. However, four of them have been discharged—three from Jammu and one (first COVID-19 patient) from Kashmir while two others died, leaving active cases at 88—70 in Kashmir and 19 in Jammu. (GNS)