At 4,338, J&K sees highest single-day recoveries
SRINAGAR: As many as 62 people lost their lives to Covid on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir, taking May’s fatalities to 1,073 and overall death toll to 3,355.
The region also recorded 3,969 fresh infections in the past 24 hours taking the overall caseload to 2,55,888. The number of patients who were cured in the UT on Wednesday was this month’s highest at 4,338, including 2,953 from Kashmir and 1,385 from Jammu.
The number of people who recovered crossed 2-lakh mark to reach 2,02,039, improving the recovery rate to 78.95% against around 98% in the first fortnight of February. The officials said that 48,565 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours taking overall tests to 8.04 million.
Dr Hardeep Singh, professor of medicine, Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, said that the second wave of Covid is highly contagious and the virus transmits from infected person to others at a faster pace.
“Earlier, during the first wave, it was observed that the affected person could infect only a few persons around him, but now the same person infects almost all around him which is cause of great concern,” he said.
The people of UT have witnessed the worst effects of the pandemic in May since the outbreak as the monthly infections have reached 79,805 and fatalities to 1,073 on Wednesday. The number of patients who have recovered from the disease this month so far is 56,598.
Officials said with 675 cases, Srinagar had the highest number of new infections, followed by 493 in Jammu district, 411 in Budgam, 371 in Baramulla, 190 in Kupwara and 171 in Pulwama. The number of active cases has reached 50,494, officials said.
Regarding the third wave, Dr Singh said if we do not adhere to SOPs, undergo vaccination and achieve herd immunity through vaccination, the virus may come again in a different form. “It can have more dangerous consequences,” he said.
10-member panel to plan for 3rd wave
The J&K government has formed a committee, mostly comprising health experts, to formulate an action plan to tackle a possible third wave of Covid pandemic in the UT.
The general administration department on Tuesday gave sanction for the constitution of a 10-member committee to be chaired by Dr MS Khuroo, senior doctor and former director of Kashmir’s premier tertiary care hospital, Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura.
The co-chairman of the committee is Dr Shakti Gupta, executive director and CEO at AIIMS, Jammu.
The committee will specially focus on preparedness in terms of creation of health infrastructure, enhancement in testing capacities, arrangement of essential drugs/logistics, treatment protocols, arrangement of machinery and equipment, oxygen supply and manpower.