With 620 fresh infections, J&K crosses 4,000 mark in 91 days
Of the new Covid-19 cases, 583 reported in Kashmir and 37 in Jammu division
SRINAGAR/JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday recorded the biggest single-day spike of 620 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the total number of cases in the Union territory to 4,087 in 91 days, officials said.
Officials said of the new cases, 583 were reported in Kashmir division, which has been consistently recording majority of the cases as compared to Jammu division where 37 more people have tested positive for the virus. Among these new patients, 32 have a travel history.
Since the initial cases of Covid-19 on March 9, it for the first time that the UT has seen a massive spike of more than 600 cases in a day. The highest jump of cases in Kashmir was recorded in Kulgam with 161 people testing positive. Baramulla recorded 132 new cases followed by 87 in Srinagar, 60 in Pulwama and 59 in Anantnag.
The highest jump in Jammu division was recorded in Jammu district with 22 cases followed by five in Doda.
TWO DIE IN KASHMIR, DEATH TOLL 41
Two more people have also died due to the virus in Kashmir, taking the death toll in the UT to 41.
“The samples taken from a non-local, who passed away in Srinagar on Saturday, tested positive for the disease on Sunday. The 38-year-old man, a resident of Kolkata, died of brain haemorrhage at the SMHS hospital,” medical superintendent of SMHS, Nazir Chaudhary said.
Another patient, a 70-year-old man from Srinagar, died due to the virus at Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial hospital in Srinagar late on Saturday.
Srinagar deputy commissioner Shahid Choudhary tweeted: “We should emphasise on precautions in public instead of triggering panic with numbers. In the later case it’s also true that out of 23,589 #Srinagar residents tested so far only 400 odd are +ve, including less than 50% travellers. Let’s encourage everyone to follow precautions.”
Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah also tweeted: “620 new cases in J&K today & only 32 are returning travellers. This is a big spike in local numbers considering the administration has some of the toughest restrictions in the country. A small district like Kulgam with a jump of 160 cases is deeply worrisome. What is going wrong?”
NINE DISTRICTS DECLARED RED ZONE
Amid sudden spike in Covid-19 infections, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday put nine districts in red zone, nine in orange zone and two in green zone.
An order issued by chief secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, in his capacity as chairperson of state executive committee for disaster management, said Srinagar, Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Baramulla, and Kupwara in Kashmir division and Ramban in Jammu division have been declared red zone districts.
Ganderbal and Bandipora in Kashmir division and Kathua, Samba, Reasi, Udhampur, Poonch, Rajouri in Jammu division have been put in orange zone while Doda and Kishtwar in Jammu division were declared green zone districts.
Kathua and Samba districts in Jammu region were dropped from the list of red zones, while Poonch and Rajouri lost their green tags. The four are now included in the list of orange zones.
Kathua district’s Lakhanpur, will be a red zone with a 500 metre buffer.
RELIGIOUS PLACES TO REMAIN SHUT IN UT
The Jammu and Kashmir administration announced that religious places would continue to remain closed in the Union Territory as it allowed certain activities, including reopening of malls, barber shops, hotels and restaurants with new guidelines from Monday.
The administration has also exempted private transport from the purview of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown outside containment zones but decided against allowing inter-state and inter-province movement without passes.
Meanwhile, 90 more patients were discharged on Sunday— nine in Jammu division and 81 in. So far, 1,216 people have recovered of which 1,016 are from Kashmir and 200 from Jammu division.
At present, active cases in Kashmir stand at 2,146 and 684 in Jammu.
Till date, 2.11 lakh people in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance — 41,848 in home quarantine, 52 in hospital quarantine and 55,994 under home surveillance. Besides these, 110,748 people have completed their 28-day surveillance period.