Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Apr 27: A two-year-old girl from Shopian district was among 22 fresh COVID-19 positive cases in Kashmir today taking the Corona cases in Kashmir to 483 and the Jammu and Kashmir tally to 546.
Among the fresh cases, 15 were confirmed at Viral Diagnostic Laboratory of SKIMS Soura and include five each from Baramulla and Shopian, three from Bandipora and one each from Budgam and Kupwara districts. Seven other cases were confirmed at the COVID-19 testing laboratory at Chest Disease hospital Dalgate and include six from Anantnag district and one from Srinagar.
Among the five Corona positive cases from Shopian district in South Kashmir is a 2-year-old and a 12-year-old boy from worst hit Heerpora. Three others are from Beminipora village and include 12-year-old and 17-year-old woman besides 75-year-old man. The two year old boy is the youngest COVID-19 positive in Kashmir.
The Baramulla Corona positive cases, include three women in early 30s and a 32-year-old man and a 6-year-old boy, all residents of Malpora Sheeri. They are all contacts of previous patients of the area.
One among the positives in Sheeri Baramulla is a pregnant woman. She is expecting baby in a just few days. She has been shifted to SKIMS Medical College Hospital in Bemina and would probably be referred to JLNM hospital for further treatment.
The six positive cases from Anantnag district, include five women aged 41, 44, 45, 46 and 75 years from Wangam Nowgam besides a 55-year-old of Pushroo Nowgam village.
The three positive cases from Bandipora include 36-year-old woman, a 14-year-old boy and 65-year-old man from Gundjahangir village, one of the worst affected villages in the district.
In Kupwara district a 6-year-old boy from Muqam-e-Shahwali tested positive for the Corona. He is contact of a previous COVID-19 positive case.
A 30-year-old woman from Ratsun area of of Beerwah in Budgam district tested positive today and she is contact of previous positive case in the village.
And a 75-year-old woman from Rainawari in Srinagar district also tested positive today.
With these fresh cases, Bandipora has now 127 COVID-19 positive cases, 84 others are positivein Srinagar, 68 Shopian, 67 Baramulla, 48 Kupwara, 49 Anantnag, 15 Ganderbal, 14 Budgam, 6 Kulgam and 3 in Pulwama.
Twenty four people have recovered today including 13 Srinagar, 4 Baramulla, 3 Ganderbal, two Shopian and one each in Bandipora and Kupwara. So far, 164 have recovered in Jammu and Kashmir and seven have died including six from Kashmir and one from Jammu and there are 375 active cases in J&K.
So far, 67570 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been enlisted for surveillance which includes 6320 persons in-home quarantine including facilities operated by Government, 259 in Hospital Quarantine, 375 in hospital isolation, and 9984 under home surveillance. Besides, 50625 persons have completed their surveillance period.
And the lockdown across Kashmir continued for the 40th day today with authorities acting tough against the violators of Government orders issued to prevent spread of coronavirus.
Police and paramilitary troopers were deployed on roads and they had erected concertina wire to block the roads to prevent movement of people and vehicles.
MCH Anantnag lacks protective gears
Irfan Tramboo
As the district Anantnag witnessed a surge in COVID-19 positive cases, there is a lethargic and callous approach in providing the necessary protective gears to its hospital staff especially at its lone Maternity and Childcare Hospital (MCH).
Those working at the hospital-be it a sweeper or a doctor-are sending out SOSs that they are not being provided with the required gears while they are dealing with patients, leaving them exposed to the high risk of catching the infection.
It is pertinent to mention here, that a pregnant woman with a twin recently died at the same hospital, only later to be found that she was COVID-19 positive.
Keeping in view the scarcity of proper gears, the staff said that the deceased lady might have infected scores including the staff at the hospital.
“We have to beg to get the PPEs and other necessary gears, though, we don’t have COVID-19 positive cases here, but we don’t know what we are dealing with. Take for example the case of that lady; she turned out to be positive, we didn’t know,” a lady doctor told Excelsior, adding that they don’t know if they too have caught the infection.
To highlight their demands of having proper gears at their disposal, the staff today morning refused to work and went on a token strike in order to press for their demands.
“Doctors and other workers at the hospital should be the first priority because if we are infected, we can infect so many others,” said a health worker at the hospital.
After the strike, the hospital administration provided the staff with some gears for the use. The health workers, however, termed the gears as sub-standard.
“What we have been provided comes nowhere near the actual standard PPE kits; we are not given masks, no gloves, these kits are porous and any liquid can spill through and infect the person wearing it,” the health workers said.
It is to be mentioned here that the district Anantnag witnessed a spike in the number of positive cases in last more than one week and as on April 27 touched the mark of 55 cases.
When contacted, Principal Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, Dr Showkat Jeelani told Excelsior that they have provided all the necessary kits to the hospital.
“We cannot and will never compromise on the safety and security of the doctors and other health workers at any cost,” he said.
Asked about the token strike carried out by the staff, he said that the staff was apprehensive about their safety, “but we have provided them whatever they need.”
Meanwhile around 5 hospital staffers including 3 doctors at M&CH Anantnag have been quarantined after the deceased lady tested positive for the COVID-19 infection.
The authorities in the district told this reporter that while other teams are doing the contact tracing elsewhere, these staffers came in direct contact with the lady and they have self-quarantined themselves.
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