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4,509 fresh infections push J&K’s May Covid tally past 50,000
65 people lost their lives to coronavirus; with 863 cases, Srinagar had the highest number of new infections
May is turning out to be the worst month for Jammu and Kashmir in terms of Covid cases and deaths as the monthly infections passed the 50,000-mark and deaths crossed 600 on Wednesday.
As many as 65 people lost their lives to coronavirus on Wednesday, highest daily spike for the second day in a row, taking the death toll for the first 12 days of this month to 630 and overall fatalities to 2,912.
The UT also recorded 4,509 fresh infections, taking the number of infections this month to 53,324 so far and total case count to 2,29,407.
The number of patients who have recovered from the disease this month so far is 29,500.
The worst-month before this in terms of fatalities was last September when the first wave had peaked during which 478 persons had lost their lives besides recording 37,300 infections. In April this year, the monthly cases in the UT went beyond 45,000 along with 289 fatalities. February had the lowest 1,935 infections and 21 deaths.
Of the 65 deaths in the UT on Wednesday, 46 were reported in Jammu division and 19 in Kashmir.
Of the new cases, 2,750 were from Kashmir while 1,759 were from Jammu, besides 87 travellers.
Dr Rakesh Bahl, senior consultant, department of community medicine, GMC Jammu, said the sudden surge in cases after a year was due to people letting their guard down.
“We, as a society, let our guards down and stopped observing Covid preventive measures strictly. If your mask isn’t covering your nose, it is as good as wearing no mask at all,” he said.
Officials said with 863 cases, Srinagar had the highest number of new infections, followed by 621 in Jammu district, 377 in Baramulla, 327 in Pulwama and 233 in Anantnag.
The number of active cases has reached 51,542, officials said.
Dr Bahl pitched for adopting Covid appropriate behaviour and getting vaccinated as the only foreseeable way out of the pandemic.
“A combination of two properly fitted masks — one home-made fabric mask over one surgical mask — is needed for maximum protection. The N95 masks are primarily meant for people at much higher risk of infection like doctors and other healthcare workers,” he added.
Nearly 3,603 patients have recovered from the disease, including 2,287 from Kashmir and 1,316 from Jammu.
As many as 1,74,953 people have recovered so far, taking the recovery rate to 76.26% against around 98% in the first fortnight of February. The officials said that 43,916 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, taking overall tests to 7.77 million.
Srinagar and Jammu districts have together contributed for about 97,000 cases and 1,377 deaths in total.
Kashmir divisional commissioner Pandurang K Pole during a visit to south Kashmir urged people, especially above 45 years of age, to strictly follow the guidelines of “no venturing out unnecessarily” for their safety.
“People should maintain social distance, hand and face hygiene and above all ensure wearing masks. Keep in touch with radio and television as all the government information is easily accessed through this medium of communication,” he added.
