Sharp jump in cases sparks fear among J&K people

The number of coronavirus cases is swelling up rapidly in Jammu and Kashmir, setting alarming bells ringing among the authorities and adding to fears that more people might be at risk.

The officials said that twelve more persons tested positive for the deadly virus on Saturday, the highest number on a single day since the first such case surfaced in Jammu three weeks ago. With these, the number of patients rose to 33 in Jammu region and Kashmir Valley of the Union Territory (UT) whereas it remains unchanged in Ladakh and, as was claimed by the government officials, several among its 13 patients are recovering in a Leh hospital.

The surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in J&K prompted Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu, to ask the officers, doctors and paramedical staff engaged in the fight against the deadly virus to double their efforts towards preventing its further spread. He said that being at the threshold of

third stage of COVID-19, escalating the preparatory efforts for preventing the spread of the virus is required. He asked the concerned authorities to double up of the isolation and quarantine facilities as well as beds in the hospitals and for tracing the contacts of suspected cases of COVID-19 so that random sampling and testing could be done as a precautionary measure.

All those who tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday have had travel histories abroad or various parts of the country or had come in contact with such returnees particularly a

65-year-old man from the Valley’s north-western town of Sopore who had contracted the deadly virus while attending the public outreach programme of Tablighi Jamaat also joined by people from Indonesia and Malaysia in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and some other parts of the country recently. He died in a Srinagar hospital on Thursday.

In view of the disquieting situation, J&K government spokesman Rohit Kansal urged the people to break the chain and yet hoped “we can and we must” to contain the threat.