E-Paper
5 doctors test positive for Covid-19 in Kashmir
So far 21 health care workers including 13 doctors have been infected with Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir since the first case was reported on March 9.
The Covid-19 tally in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 1,188 on Monday after five doctors in three hospitals in Srinagar tested positive for the disease, officials said.
A 75-year-old man also died of Covid-19 at Chest Diseases (CD) hospital in Srinagar on Monday taking the death toll to 14.
Officials said that the five doctors were tested a day after a 29-year-old woman, who was earlier treated at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh(SMHS) hospital by ENT specialists and then tested positive for Covid-19, died at the CD hospital.
“5 doctors positive - 4 of them were treating a single positive patient. No one is immune to the infection. Please take precautions,” Dr Naveed Shah, head of chest medicine at CD hospital, said in a tweet.
Dr Salim Khan, nodal officer Covid-19 at Government Medical College, Srinagar, said that three of the doctors are from the ENT department of SMHS, one from Government Dental College and one from SKIMS, Bemina.
“The Covid positive deceased lady from Habba Kadal was treated by the doctor from the Dental College and also at ENT, SMHS hospital, Srinagar,” Khan said.
The patient was operated at SMHS by ENT surgeons for Ludwig’s Angina (submandibular abscess) and mediastinitis and had suffered septic shock.
So far 21 health care workers including 13 doctors have been infected with Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir since the first case was reported on March 9.
The infections of frontline workers have triggered concern among the population.
“Doctors and paramedics are our frontline workers in the fight against Covid-19. If they continue to be infected with coronavirus, it will be only a recipe for a big disaster. Today 5 doctors from 3 different health institutions in Kashmir are reported to have tested positive for Covid19. This is shocking, to say the least. The last thing we can afford today is to shut down our hospitals during the pandemic that’s only spreading its tentacle,’ said Faheem Aslam, a netizen.
Dr Khan said that the 75-year-old person who died on Monday was from Hiller Kokernag in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and was earlier admitted to SMHS hospital.
“He tested positive and was shifted to CD hospital where his two latest reports also came positive for Covid-19. The patient died today morning at CD hospital,” he said.
On Sunday, 62 people had tested positive for Covid-19 including 14 police personnel and a pregnant woman.
