15 fatalities, 540 fresh cases in J&K
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 15 deaths and 540 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union territory to 19,419, officials said.
Of the new cases, 389 are from Kashmir and 151 from Jammu division. Among these, 67 patients have a travel history.
Officials said 15 more people have succumbed to the disease—14 in Kashmir and one in Jammu division. With this, the death toll in the UT has risen to 348—323 fatalities in Kashmir and 25 in Jammu division till date. The total death toll crossed 300 on Saturday 122 days after the first death was reported on March 26.
The UT, particularly Kashmir valley, is witnessing an increase in the daily death toll. 247 persons have died in the past 29 days of July alone. However the officials said that the mortality rate was low in J&K as compared to the national average.
Active cases in the UT stand at 7,749 after 437 more patients recovered.
A government spokesperson said 70 people were discharged in Jammu division and 367 in Kashmir
on Wednesday.
The number of people who have recovered since the first cases emerged on March 9 has reached 11,322, taking the recovery rate to 58.3%. Of the total recoveries, 9,086 were cured in Kashmir while 2,236 in Jammu division.till date, 3.64 lakh people have been enlisted for observation — 47,469 in home quarantine, 7,749 in hospital isolation, 12 in hospital quarantine and 39,947 under home surveillance.
NO USUAL PRE-EID RUSH AS SHOPS IN VALLEY OPEN BRIEFLY
Many business establishments and markets opened in parts of Kashmir including Srinagar on Wednesday, but the usual rush of shoppers witnessed ahead of Eid was missing. Eid-ul-azha will be celebrated on Saturday.
The divisional administration had decided to ease the lockdown from July 28 to 30 in Kashmir to allow people to purchase goods and essential commodities.
“Markets opened, but the buyers were mostly absent, even in the city’s business hub — Lal Chowk. It does not feel like Eid is just two days away. Even bakery shops are closed here,” said Abdul Majeed of Srinagar.