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J&K crosses 1,000 mark with 30 fresh infections
Since the detection of first Covid-19 case in March, 11 people have succumbed to the disease in J&K
Thirty more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the Union territory to 1,013, officials said.
Of the fresh infections, 21 were reported from Kashmir division—Srinagar, Bandipora, Baramulla, Kupwara and Pulwama districts—where the tally has risen to 903. Nine cases are from Ramban, Udhampur, Kathua, Rajouri and Jammu district.
Also, 28 more patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals in Kashmir, officials said.
Out of the total positive cases—456 in Kashmir and 57 in Jammu division– have recovered so far. At present, Kashmir has 438 active cases and 51 are in Jammu.
Till date, 10,5941 people in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance—27,760 in home quarantine, 142 in hospital quarantine and 13,254 under home surveillance. Besides, 64,285 people have completed their 28-day surveillance period.
Since the detection of first Covid-19 case in March, 11 people have succumbed to the disease in J&K. With 153 positive cases, Srinagar district tops the count followed by Anantnag at 145 and Kupwara at 135 cases.
A spokesperson of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences said they received 1,724 samples till Friday evening. “As many as 1,210 were tested. Eight were found positive while 514 are being tested. Among the positive cases, six are from Baramulla, one each from Pulwama and Bandipora.”
Former J&K nodal officer Dr Shafkat Khan said they should wait for the curve to flatten. “The increase in number of cases to more than 1,000 is not alarming yet but we should not be complacent. A surge can be expected anytime in case proper SOPs are not followed.”
UT ACQUIRES 30K VTM KITS TO RAMP UP TESTING
As 50,000 stranded people returned home to the Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has acquired 30,000 viral transport media (VTM) kits to ramp up the testing for coronavirus to ensure that the infection does not spread. An Indian Air Force (IAF) plane brought in the 30,000 VTM kits to Kashmir on Friday, officials said. They said the kits have been imported in bulk to ramp up the testing of people from Kashmir who are stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
“We had 13 travellers, who returned to Kashmir recently, testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Foreseeing this possibility, additional kits were procured to ensure that we test more and more people so that the infection does not spread,” the officials said.
“There could be a surge in cases. However, poeple entering J&K are being screened and quarantined,” a senior officer said.