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November records least number of Covid-19 cases in J&K yet
The daily health data provided by the government revealed that there were 15,434 cases in November as compared to 19,619 in October
November recorded the least number of Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and deaths since August in Jammu and Kashmir, official data has revealed.
While there has been a 26% decrease in the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in November in comparison to October, the number of fresh cases also dipped by 21% in the same month.
The daily health data provided by the government revealed that there were 15,434 cases in November as compared to 19,619 in October. September had recorded a steep rise in cases to reach 37,372 from 17,339 in August.
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Breaking down the numbers, November recorded an average of 514 daily cases against an average of 632 daily cases in October, 1,245 daily cases in September and 559 daily cases in August.
“The overall prevalence of the disease is reducing now in comparison to the past months. There are fewer deaths as well,” said Dr Muhammad Salim Khan, nodal officer, Covid19, and head of the department of community medicine, Government Medical College Srinagar.
In terms of fatalities, November saw the least number in the past four months. In the UT, 216 people lost their lives due to the virus in November, a notable decrease from October’s 293 deaths. The highest monthly death count was recorded in September with 478 people succumbing to the virus as against 326 in August.
Seven deaths a day were recorded daily on an average in November, 10 in October against 16 in September.
Khan said the prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies in 39% of the population of Kashmir, as revealed in a study, was a major reason for the decline. “In context of serum prevalence, our at-risk population is getting lower. It obviously affects disease transmission, lowering the number of new cases,” he said.
Kashmir’s first ever district wise sero-survey of Covid-19 done by the government revealed antibodies of the disease in about 39% of the population in the Valley.
“It was done in mid-October, now there will be more people with antibodies. In our hospitals also, mortality has reduced to a large extent,” he said.
The number of recoveries was also higher in November than the fresh cases in the month to settle at 16,677 bringing the active cases down to below 5,000 and recovery rate to 93.95% on November 30.
As on December 1, the total Covid-19 count in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 110,678 and death toll to 1,702 of which 1,107 fatalities were reported from Kashmir and 595 from Jammu.
