Universities, colleges, schools shut till May 15
Market Assons asked to stagger schedules to reduce crowds
Youth dies, record 362 test positive in Ladakh
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU/SRINAGAR/ LEH, Apr 18: On a day Jammu and Kashmir recorded this year’s highest 1526 COVID positive cases, the Government came out with more restrictions including closures of Universities, Colleges and Schools till May 15, cut number of persons in funerals to 20 and indoor gatherings to 50 and asked Market Associations to voluntarily stagger schedules to reduce crowds.
Apart from 1526 cases, J&K also reported seven casualties while the Union Territory of Ladakh also recorded highest ever single day spike of 362 cases and one death.
Jammu region reported four COVID deaths, three in Jammu district and one in Samba and 547 cases while Kashmir accounted for three fatalities and 979 positives.
Office of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tonight came out with series of guidelines/restrictions as a part of COVID control measures followed by detailed order issued by State Executive Committee (SEC) Member-Secretary Simrandeep Singh.
While Schools up to 12th Class were already closed in the Union Territory till April 30, the Government today also shut Universities and Colleges in J&K till May 15.
“All Universities and Colleges in J&K shall remain closed for imparting on-campus/in-person education to the students till 15.05.2021, except for the courses/programs that require physical presence of students on account of laboratory/research/thesis work and internship etc. Colleges will move to online mode.
“All Schools in J&K shall continue to remain closed for imparting on-campus/in-person education to the students till 15.05.2021,” tweets by the Office of LG Manoj Sinha read.
The Government has further capped ceiling on number of people permitted to attend gatherings and functions. The cap on number of persons in funerals has been kept at 20, for indoor functions at 50 and for outdoor venues at 100, according to another tweet by the LG’s office.
The tweet directed matadors/buses/mini buses and other modes of public transport to ply strictly as peer registered/authorized seating capacity.
“No standing passengers will be allowed (in vehicles). The District Superintendents of Police will ensure strict compliance of the orders and take punitive measures against violators under relevant provisions of law,” the SEC order issued by Simrandeep Singh said.
The Government has directed for strict enforcement of compulsory testing of all incoming passengers to Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the order, all passengers or travelers coming to J&K by rail, road or air will have to compulsorily undergo COVID-19 antigen test through any of the prescribed methods as per the J&K Government protocol.
The Government has asked all District Magistrates to put in place an effective mechanism to ensure COVID appropriate behaviour in all crowded markets, shopping complexes and Malls. It said the District Magistrates can take necessary cooperation and support of the local Bazaar/Market Association and initiate strict action in case of any violation.
“Market Associations are encouraged to voluntarily try to stagger opening timings/schedules to reduce crowds”, the order said.
Meanwhile, a 60-year-old woman from Rakh Amb Tali in Samba died of COVID Pneumonia in the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu tonight while 47-year-old man from Bypass Sidhra on the outskirts of Jammu succumbed to the virus at IVY Hospital Mohali. Two more COVID deaths were reported from Bahu Fort and Nanak Nagar areas of Jammu.
An all time high 115 tourist-cum-travelers tested positive for COVID-19 at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, in Kathua district today.
The positives include 33 from Uttar Pradesh, 20 Punjab, eight New Delhi, five Bihar, four each Haryana and Maharashtra, three West Bengal, two Madhya Pradesh and one each from Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Nepal and Chattisgarh. Thirty two positive persons belonged to Jammu and Kashmir.
A total of 5600 persons were tested for Coronavirus at Lakhanpur.
Reasi district too continued to report high number of tourists-cum-travelers as positive. A total of 88 persons were today found infected in Reasi and 57 of them were travelers, mostly tourists who were tested at Katra Railway Station. Tourists testing positive at Katra are either being sent back or lodged in COVID Care Centres.
Jammu district continued to account for more than 50 percent of total cases in the region with 299 positives today followed by Reasi 88, Kathua 51, Udhampur 29, Rajouri 28, Ramban 24, Samba 20, Doda five and Poonch three. Kishtwar was the only district in Jammu region where no fresh cases were reported today.
Number of recoveries in the Jammu region was also quite significant today at 541 including 419 in Udhampur district alone, 77 Jammu, 24 Kathua, 12 Ramban, four Rajouri, three Doda and two in Poonch district.
Jammu region now has 58584 Corona cases. Of them, 4254 are active positive while 53566 have recovered from the virus and there have been 764 casualties. The casualties have touched 400 in Jammu district followed by 64 Doda, 58 Udhampur, 56 Rajouri, 53 Kathua, 43 Samba, 29 Poonch, 23 Ramban, 22 Kishtwar and 16 in Reasi district.
The Union Territory of Ladakh today reported single day highest cases at 362 including 354 in Leh district and eight in Kargil.
A 28-year-old worker from Jharkhand, who had come to Leh for job, died of COVID in the district taking Corona fatalities in Ladakh to 133 including 89 in Leh and 44 in Kargil.
Ladakh’s Corona count now stood at 12071 including 1671 active positives and 10267 recoveries.
Meanwhile, there was a record spike in COVID-19 cases in Kashmir this year today with 1293 testing positive while three persons died in the Valley.
The victims include a 50-year-old man from Kunzer Tangmarg in Baramulla district, 75-year-old man from Bemina in Srinagar district and 85-year-old man from Chakpath in Anantnag district.
Those who tested positive include 520 in Srinagar, Baramulla 122, Budgam 70, Pulwama 76, Kupwara 23, Anantnag 50, Bandipora 44, Ganderbal 14, Kulgam 47 and Shopian 13.
Moreover, 963 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals including 422 from Kashmir division.
Imposition of weekly lockdown under consideration of Govt
The Government is seriously considering imposition of weekend lockdown in some districts of Jammu and Kashmir which are worst hit by COVID cases.
Highly placed sources told the Excelsior that the Government doesn’t want economic activity to be disrupted in Jammu and Kashmir by imposing lockdown due to massive surge in COVID cases.
In view of this, it was considering the option of imposing weekend lockdown in some districts as a part of COVID control measures.
The weekend lockdown will help in crowd control, sources said.
A decision on weekend lockdown is expected to be taken next week, they added.
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