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J&K’s infections in first half of April exceeded tally of previous 3 months
Against 9, 989 cases recorded cumulatively in the months of January, February and March, the UT saw over 13,000 infections between April 1 and 16.
In the first half of April, Jammu and Kashmir recorded more cases than what it saw in the first three months of the year, data from the health department has revealed.
Against 9, 989 cases recorded cumulatively in the months of January, February and March, the UT saw over 13,000 infections between April 1 and 16. Of the total cases in April, around 8, 500 cases were from Kashmir while 4,500 were from Jammu.
The UT had reported its lowest single-day count of the year on February 8 when only 43 cases had surfaced. The surge became pronounced in mid-March and became steeper in April with over 800 cases being reported daily since April 7. Since April 13, when the fresh infections soared up to 1, 269, a record daily count after September 20, the daily cases have been hovering around 1, 000.
The month of April also saw 54 deaths – 31 in Kashmir and 23 in Jammu. In the first quarter of the year, the UT recorded 111 fatalities due to the virus.
The number of active cases has also rapidly risen – from 593 on February 8 to over 10,000 in April. The number of active cases, as on April 16, was 10,620.
Surge was expected: Experts
Experts say the surge was expected in April. “In the first wave, we had achieved a lot in terms of herd immunity. If everyone had got vaccinated, we would have been much safer now. That did not happen,” said Dr Talat Jabeen, divisional nodal officer Covid.
She, however, added that the situation in Kashmir is still better than the rest of the country.
“The severity of the disease is less here. We have a sufficient number of beds and the oxygen supply is also enough. We have also asked the officials concerned to perform the mandated 15, 000 RT-PCR tests per million populations daily,” she said.
Mushtaq Ahmad Rather, director health, Kashmir, said, “We have asked for increased RT-PCR sampling to have early diagnosis and early treatment which will lead to better outcome. We have also called for increased vaccinations.”
OPD services at SMHS suspended
In view of the surge in virus cases, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar closed its out-patient department (OPD) services from Saturday and added 13 wards for Covid-19 patients. Earlier, the Valley’s largest tertiary care hospital in Srinagar, Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) decided to stop all non-emergency surgeries and admissions to cater to the increasing rush of Covid patients.
“Over 203 beds have been designated for Covid-19 patients as the inflow of patients has been increasing. We have suspended OPD services and also stopped routine surgeries,” said Nazir Choudhary, medical superintendent of SMHS hospital.
“Many of the patients who are admitted in territory care would obviously be sick,” he said.
In northern Baramulla district, the Covid centre at Indoor Stadium has been reopened to meet emergency situations. Over 100 patients can be treated here.
