5 more COVID deaths in Jammu, 16 in last 2 days; record 2204 test +ve

File Photo

19-year-old with no co-morbidity among 3 dead in Valley

Female IPS officer, 2 PGs among 8 docs, 9 marriage revellers infected

One casualty, 250 new cases in Ladakh, colleges closed

 

Sanjeev Pargal/ Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR/ LEH, Apr 21: Jammu and Kashmir continued to create record of daily COVID cases with an all-time high 2204 persons testing positive for the virus today while the Union Territory recorded eight more fatalities.

Five Corona deaths, two of them middle-aged women, were reported today in Jammu region including two in Kathua district and one each in Jammu, Udhampur and Samba districts while 905 persons were found infected.
Official document released by the Health and Medical Education Department showed 10 Corona fatalities in Jammu region today. However, they include six deaths that took place last night and had exclusively been reported by the Excelsior today.
A 37-year-old woman from Upper Gummat in Jammu City succumbed to COVID-19 this evening.
Two deaths were reported from Marheen in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district. They include a 70-year-old and another 42-year-old man.
A 45-year-old woman from village Samol in Tikri area of Udhampur and 64-year-old man from Vijaypur in Samba district also succumbed to the virus today.
As already reported, six persons had died of Coronavirus in Jammu last night including 55-year-old man from Sarwal, 58-year-old woman in Nagrota, 47-year-old man from Nanak Nagar, 45-year-old woman in Gandhi Nagar and 60-year-old man in Paloura Thathar, all in Jammu district.
A total of 11 COVID deaths had been reported in Jammu region yesterday. Today’s five more casualties have taken number of deaths during last two days in Jammu region to 16.
A female IPS officer posted in Jammu district today tested positive for COVID-19.
Eight doctors including two Post Graduate (PG) students in Medicines Department of the GMC Jammu, six migrant workers in Bhaderwah, nine marriage revellers in Doda City, six persons at Hotel Ramada/Trendz Pantaloons Testing Centre, three at V-Mart Jewel Chowk, eight members of a family at Talab Tillo, six Kanak Mandi and four each at Vikas Nagar Sarwal and Bakshi Nagar in Jammu tested positive for the virus today.
Two CRPF personnel tested COVID positive in Doda today 26 days after taking both doses of vaccine.
There was no let up either in large numbers of tourists-cum-travellers testing positive for the virus at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, in Kathua district and Katra Railway Station in Reasi district.
As many as 99 tourist/travellers tested positive for pathogen at Lakhanpur and 73 at Reasi today.
The positives at Lakhanpur include 10 from Punjab, nine Uttar Pradesh, six Bihar, five each Rajasthan and New Delhi, three each Haryana and Jharkhand, two West Bengal and one Himachal Pradesh. Besides, 55 positives belonged to Jammu and Kashmir. Majority of the tourists testing positive at Katra are either being sent back or lodged in the COVID Care Centres, the officials said.
Jammu district continued to account for more than 50 percent cases of the Jammu region.
As against 905 total cases in the region, Jammu district logged 461 followed by Reasi 133, Kathua 127, Udhampur 52, Samba 51, Rajouri 41, Ramban 16, Poonch 12, Doda eight and Kishtwar four.
As many as 254 persons recovered from the virus today including 106 in Reasi, 104 in Jammu district, 21 Kathua, nine Udhampur, seven Poonch, three Rajouri and two each in Ramban and Rajouri districts.
Jammu region now has 61201 Corona cases. Among them, 6216 are active positives while 54204 have recovered from the virus and there have been 781 casualties in the region.
The casualties include 411 in Jammu district, 64 Doda, 59 Udhampur, 57 Rajouri, 55 Kathua, 45 Samba, 29 Poonch, 23 Ramban, 22 Kishtwar and 16 in Reasi district.
Markets in Municipal and Urban Local Body limits in Jammu province today opened 50 percent of the strength following yesterday’s directions by the Government on rotational opening of the shops.
Meanwhile, the Union Territory of Ladakh today reported one COVID death and 250 fresh cases.
A 40-year-old worker from Jharkhand succumbed to the virus in Leh.
Among 250 new positive cases in Ladakh, 236 were reported from Leh and 14 in Kargil district.
With today’s death, the Corona toll in Ladakh has gone up to 134 including 90 in Leh and 44 in Kargil.
Total cases in Ladakh were 12556. Of them, 1812 are active positives while 10610 have been treated.
The UT Ladakh administration today ordered that in view of COVID pandemic, classroom teaching in all higher educational institutions in Ladakh will remain suspended till April 30.
The University/ Colleges/ Institutes will resort to online classes during this period, a UT Government order said.
It added that the University/Colleges/Institutes may continue with ongoing and forthcoming examinations as well as laboratory work, research, internship etc requiring physical presence with strict compliance of COVID protocols.
Meanwhile, Kashmir today reported 1299 cases of COVID-19, highest this year so far while three persons including a 19-year old girl from Budgam died today taking the J&K death toll to 2084.
Among three who died of COVID-19 include a 19-year-old girl from Budgam with no Comorbidities and she succumbed to the virus within a week after contracting it.
On the death of the girl, influenza expert Dr Nisarul Hassan said that the second wave of the COVID-19 is proving to be more lethal as it is more infectious than the first wave and there is need to ramp up genome sequencing.
He said that the teenage girl from Budgam had a five day history of breathlessness and was admitted at SMHS on April 15 with severe bilateral pneumonia. “On the very next day, she developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and was put on a ventilator,” he said.
“Despite giving the best, her condition deteriorated and she died today. The virus had damaged her lungs, kidney and other organs. She is the youngest COVID-19 victim of current year,” he said.
Dr Nisar said that the second wave is behaving differently and is attacking multiple organs other than lungs. “More and more young people are being admitted in hospital with no underlying problems but their condition is severe,” he said.
In the first wave of COVID-19, it was effecting only elderly people and patients with comorbidities but this wave has started to affect young people and there is a need to check the presence of mutant variants by ramping up genome sequencing.
Those who tested positive include 612 from Srinagar, 232 Baramulla, 102 Budgam, 64 Pulwama, 65 Kupwara, 61 Anantnag, 14 Bandipora, 32 Ganderbal, 109 Kulgam and 08 from Shopian.
The number of positive in Kashmir division has reached 91,241 including 81,226 recoveries and 1,303 deaths.
The number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir are 14,928 including 8,712 from Kashmir division.
The overall toll of cases has mounted to 152,442 in Jammu and Kashmir while 92,241 among them are from Kashmir and 61,201 from Jammu division.
With 733 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 135,430, which is 88.84 percent of the total cases.