Three more test positive in Ladakh
Two infected persons are from Leh and one from Kargil; entry of passengers travelling by air restricted
JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Three more persons tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh on Saturday, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory to 13. They were shifted to an isolation ward in a hospital. Two cases are from Leh and one from Kargil, he said.
Three more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh on Saturday, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union territory to 13.
“The samples of three more persons have tested positive for Covid-19 in Ladakh. They were shifted to an isolation ward in a hospital here,” Rigzin Sampheal, commissioner secretary (health) of Ladakh said.
Two cases are from Leh and one from Kargil, he said. Those tested positive include a soldier from the Ladakh Scouts, who had come in contact with his father who had returned from Iran from a pilgrimage recently.
The UT administration has already restricted the entry of passengers travelling by air to Ladakh and no commercial flights are landing at the KBR airport. While Jammu and Kashmir have reported four positive cases of Covid-19 so far.
‘MAN RELEASED FROM QUARANTINE FACILITY TESTS POSITIVE’
Meanwhile, people of Chuchot Gongma village, Leh, claimed that a relative of a Covid-19 patient who was declared negative and released from a quarantine facility has been found positive for the virus in third test.
Samphel said that the person who was again sent for isolation was released only after his two reports found him negative for the virus.
“Once we received the third report, we got him and his relatives into quarantine,’’ he said, adding that the village is already under quarantine due to several positive cases. “We are taking all precautions.’’
Village sarpanch Haji Ghulam Mohammad said the doctors should have waited for the third report before releasing him from the facility. “The heath officials have risked the lives of other family members and relatives who met him after they were informed he was cleared for COvid-19 by doctors,’’ he said.
Ghulam Mohammad said the person concerned and his family members resisted and there was a protest in the village when the health officials came to pick them for quarantine. “Their house has also been sealed,’’ said the sarpanch.
MARKETS IN JAMMU WEAR DESERTED LOOK
On Saturday, Jammu wore a deserted look with the majority of people preferring to stay indoors.
Public transport was off-road, markets, educational institutions, gyms, health clubs and restaurants were closed down.
The government has also banned social gatherings and has also imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the Union Territory. Only those selling essential commodities like groceries, medicines, milk, vegetables, hospitals and gas stations remained open.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a call for ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday. It would be no surprise if the government officially clamps curfew to deal with the situation. We are being told that the government may also go for a complete lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. Therefore, I am purchasing ration supplies for the next one month,” said Diya Gupta, a housewife who had visited a grocery store in Gandhi Nagar.
Kewal Krishan, a store owner said, “Jammu being the abode of Mata Vaishno Devi, people are making purchases of pooja items required during the nine-day long Navratri festival that begins on March 25.”
On March 18, the Jammu and Kashmir administration suspended the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
255 PEOPLE QUARANTINED
The administration said as many as 255 people who arrived in Srinagar from Bangladesh and other countries have been quarantined. “Also, 50 well-equipped quarantine facilities have been set up in the district,’’ a spokesperson said.