Senior doctor among 13 succumb to virus in J&K
DR MIR, IN HIS EARLY 40S, WAS WORKING AS MEDICAL OFFICER AND HAD GOT INFECTED LAST MONTH IN LINE OF DUTY
SRINAGAR:: A senior doctor in Kashmir who was on the forefront of the battle against Covid-19 was among 13 people who succumbed to the virus in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, taking the death toll in the Union territory to 472.
Dr Mohammad Ashraf Mir, a resident of Pampore area of Pulwama district, passed away in the morning at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar, officials said.
Dr Mir, in his early 40s, was working as medical officer at District Hospital Pulwama and had got infected last month in the line of duty.
The doctor was admitted to the hospital with bilateral pneumonia. He was later shifted to an intensive care unit as he could not maintain oxygen saturation and passed away in the morning, health officials said.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, while expressing his condolences, termed Mir as a ‘Corona Warrior’ who will be missed by all. “The Lt Governor prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul who laid his life for welfare of humanity and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss,” an official spokesman said.
Srinagar deputy commissioner Shahid Chaudhary tweeted: “The limitless cruelty of this global pandemic has put us all in grief and sorrow. Braving all odds, health professionals continue to risk their own lives to save others’. Condolences to the family and fraternity.”
Mir is the second doctor in Kashmir to have died due to the virus while on duty. Last month, medical officer at Gurez Dr Shabir Ahmad Malik had succumbed to the infection. So far, around 240 doctors and other healthcare workers have been infected with the coronavirus in the UT.
Officials said of the 13 people who succumbed to the disease on Sunday—12 were from Kashmir and one from Jammu. With this, the death toll in the UT has risen to 472—437 fatalities in Kashmir and 35 in Jammu division.
507 NEW CASES IN UT
Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday witnessed 507 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union territory to 24,897, officials said.
The recovery rate reached 68.27% after 336 more people were cured and discharged from various hospitals taking overall recoveries to 17,003. Active cases in the UT stand at 7,422.