4 deaths, 149 new cases in J&K
SRINAGAR: :Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 149 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of cases in the Union territory to 5,555, officials said.
Of the new cases, 49 are from Jammu division and 100 from Kashmir. Among these, 44 patients have a travel history.
Four more patients have also died due to the virus—two each in Jammu division and Kashmir. With this, the death toll in the UT has risen to 71. In Kashmir, an 80-year-old patient from Srinagar and another 65-yearold from Shopian succumbed to the disease.
The active cases in UT now stands at 2,340 after 230 more patients recovered on Thursday. “72 people were discharged from Jammu division and 158 from Kashmir,” as per the official statement.
An official of Sher-i-kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Bemina, said 10 more Covid-19 patients admitted in the hospital were discharged on Thursday. “With this, the number of recovered patients is 379 out of the total 481 admitted till date. The recovery rate at present is more than 78.79% with four fatalities and the mortality rate is 0.83%. The treated patients include positive patients admitted for maternity care. Till date, 32 deliveries of Covid-19 positive pregnant woman, including 16 major surgeries for childbirth have been done,” the official said.
PLEADED FOR WATER, WERE ABUSED: NEPHEW
Amit Jadoo, victim’s nephew, who was present at the cremation, said: “Our uncle died late Wednesday and this morning we got a call from the tehsildar who asked us to reach GMCH.”
“At 11am, we went to the hospital but no health staff accompanied us. We were taken to Sidhra on the bank of Tawi river. As no proper cremation site was identified, they kept moving ambulance from one spot to another. After a while, they asked us to take the body to the riverbed. While wearing PPE kits, we started moving towards the riverbed --- that was at least at a distance of 500m --- with the body. Halfway there, we felt dehydrated and pleaded the cops for water. They, however, abused us. The ADC was there but did not help us,” alleged Jadoo.
“Three of my relatives fainted. I took one of them to the hospital and gave him CPR on the way. He revived but the other two died. Though the ambulance driver helped us, officials were just giving us orders sitting 200m away. We were treated like untouchables,” said Jadoo.
“It is the job of the administration to ensure quick and hasslefree cremation of Covid-19 victims. Our job is to provide ambulance, driver, health staff, and PPE kits,” he added.
DC RUBBISHES CHARGES
Jammu district commissioner Sushma Chauhan has denied the charges that the ambulance kept moving from one place to another to look for a suitable place for cremation. “The cause of deaths can be established only after the autopsy,” she said. “I have ordered a magisterial probe to look into the circumstances of the death. The ADC is to submit his report by June 22,” she said.