J&K crosses 10,000 mark in 125 days

268 fresh coronavirus infections reported; 10 more people succumb to the disease in UT

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday recorded 268 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of cases in the Union territory to 10,156, officials said.

J&K has crossed the 10,000 mark in 125 days since the first cases were reported on March 9.

Of the new cases, 181 people have tested positive for the virus in Kashmir and 87 in Jammu division. Among these, 62 patients have a travel history.

Also, 10 more people have succumbed to the disease—nine in Kashmir and one in Jammu division. With this, the death toll has risen to 169 in the UT—153 fatalities in Kashmir and 16 in Jammu division till date.

The UT, particularly Kashmir valley, is witnessing an increase in death toll for the past one month. More than 73% of the total fatalities due to Covid-19 in J&K have come since June 7. As many as 68 people have died due to the virus in the past 11 days alone.

The fresh infections and fatalities come as the tests per million population in the UT reached 35,036 much better than the national average of 9,105 tests per million, officials told adviser to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, during a high-level review meeting on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Bhatnagar emphasised on the need of aggressive testing of co-morbid persons and people in red zone areas besides strict enforcement of restrictions in containment zones to contain the spread of virus. “He asked the deputy commissioners to launch an aggressive testing campaign in red zone areas with focus on co-morbid persons and pregnant women besides ensuring increase in target sampling of positive contact cases for early detection,” an official spokesman said.

Active cases in the UT stand at 4,092 after 109 more patients recovered on Saturday. A government spokesperson said 14 people were discharged in Jammu division and 95 in Kashmir.the number of people who have recovered since the first cases emerged on March 9 has reached 5,895, taking the recovery rate to 58%. Of the total recoveries, 4,427 are in Kashmir while 1,468 in Jammu division.

In Kashmir, the highest jump in cases was witnessed in Srinagar district where 67 more people

tested positive, followed by Baramulla and Kupwara at 37 each and Kulgam at 23. In Jammu division, the highest 29 cases were reported in Rajouri district followed by 21 in Jammu and 20 in Kathua.

Till date, 3.11 lakh people have been enlisted for observation — 38,650 in home quarantine, 4,092 in hospital isolation, 36 in hospital quarantine and 45,156 under home surveillance. Besides these, 2.23 lakh people have completed their 28-day surveillance period.