ANOTHER BIG SPIKE: 11 DEATHS, 493 FRESH COVID CASES IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday recorded 11 deaths and 493 Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of cases in the UT to 11,666, officials said.

Of the new cases, 436 are from Kashmir and 57 from Jammu division. Among these, 57 patients have a travel history.

Officials said eleven more people have succumbed to the disease in the Kashmir valley. With this, the death toll in the UT has risen to 206—188 fatalities in Kashmir and 18 in Jammu division till date.

The UT, particularly Kashmir valley, is witnessing an increase in fatalities and new cases for the past month. As many as 105 people have died in the past 15 days alone.

Active cases in the UT stand at 5,123 after 114 more patients recovered. A government spokesperson said 14 people were discharged in Jammu division and 100 in Kashmir. The number of people cured has reached 6,337, taking the recovery rate to 54.3%.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday barred all health institutions in the UT from sharing details of Covid-19 cases with the media directly.

The order issued by financial commissioner, health and medical education, Atal Dulloo, amid spike in virus cases and deaths in the UT, particularly in the Valley, in the past few weeks.

“It has been observed that all the institutions at their own are giving official statements to the press/electronic media separately regarding the Covid-19 laboratory testing conducted in their respective institutions. As a result, there is likelihood of confusion on the exact number of total laboratory tests carried out in the UT,” the order read.

The assignment of press briefing has been given to the director of National Health Mission, J&K, who after compilation of the reports from all laboratories will brief the media on daily activities related to Covid-19 testing.