Six-day lockdown imposed in Valley
Fresh restrictions put in place in 9 out of 10 districts in Kashmir
SRINAGAR: Perturbed by the spike in Covid-19 cases in the valley, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday reimposed lockdown restrictions for six days in nine of the 10 districts of the Kashmir valley after a spike in Covid-19 cases in the region.
The number of infections crossed 15,250 on Tuesday evening,145 days after the first cases were reported on March 9. Fifty percent of these patients (7,761 cases) were reported in July .
The total death toll due to the disease has reached 263. As many as 243 fatalities have been reported in Kashmir and 20 in Jammu division till Tuesday evening. As many as 162 or 61% deaths were reported over the past 21 days of July. Kashmir is most affected region in terms of number of cases as well as deaths.
Officials said a complete lockdown will be imposed in all the red districts of Kashmir valley, except the northern district of Bandipora. They said that the restrictions will be imposed from Wednesday evening to the morning of July 27(Monday).
“Agriculture, horticulture and construction activities will continue as per DMRR guidelines,” said J&K’S department of information and public relations (DIPR) in a tweet.
Kashmir divisional commissioner Pandurang K Pol said the markets will open for three days from July 28 to July 30 to facilitate hassle-free purchase of sacrificial animals and other necessary items. He asked DCS to open up markets in a phased manner.