Soft drinks company’s tally reaches 33
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 6: Twelve more staffers of a soft drinks company, an employee of Raj Bhawan Jammu, four more constables of Police Training School (PTS) Kathua, three BSF jawans, three members of a family, two employees of Katra Municipality (KM) and a Laboratory Technician of a Government hospital were among 38 persons who tested Corona positive in Jammu region today while eight persons were treated for the virus and discharged from various COVID hospitals.
A Raj Bhawan Jammu employee in non-gazetted cadre who had returned here from Srinagar today tested positive for COVID-19 and has been admitted in Gandhi Nagar hospital. Resident of Bari Brahamna, he had visited Samba and Kathua districts and his contacts are being traced for isolation and sampling, the officials said.
Other positives of Jammu district include 46-year-old Laboratory Technician from Sub District Hospital (SDH) Marh, who is a resident of Ustaad Mohalla, a 40-year-old man from Pargwal in Akhnoor, 51-year-old security personnel posted in Akhnoor, 52-year-old man from Paloura, 30-year-old woman from Nanak Nagar, 21-year-old Bihari labourer and a 25-year-old youth.
A total of eight persons tested positive in Jammu district.
Twelve more employees of a soft drinks company at Bari Brahamna tested positive for COVID-19 today taking total number of positive staffers to 33 even as reports of many workers and their family members are still pending. This is the first case of its kind in Jammu region since Coronavirus pandemic broke out that 33 employees of one organization have reported positive for the virus.
SSP Samba Shakti Pathak told the Excelsior that aggressive sampling of employees, their high and low risk contacts including family members, clients etc is on and so far 33 employees of the soft drinks company have reported positive for the virus. Till last night, 21 staffers of the company had been infected by COVID-19 while 12 persons reported positive today, he said, adding all positive employees have been shifted to COVID facilities in Samba district.
Of 12 staff members of the company, two tested positive were puting up at the company’s quarters while others hailed from Allah Arnia, Doliya Basti, Bari Brahmana, Sarore Adda and New Plot, Salesar, Bishnah. The workers living in quarters of the company are orginaly residents of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Gurdaspur in Punjab.
“Family members of the staffers are also being sampled as majority of employees had regularly been visiting their houses,” Pathak said, adding that family members of all employees will be tested for the virus gradually. They have already been asked to isolate themselves.
The soft drinks factory, as already reported, has been contained and was being used for quarantine of some of the staff members. Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Bari Brahamna Suman Kesar and SHO Inspector Arjun Singh Chib were monitoring the situation.
An employee of the company hailing from Bishnah was the first to test Corona positive after which sampling of his contacts had started. So far daughter of one of the employees has also tested positive for the virus.
Two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans, one police constable and a Special Police Officer (SPO) tested COVID positive in Rajouri district today.
SSP Rajouri Chandan Kohli said the positives include two BSF jawans posted at Dhangri battalion having travel history of Uttar Pradesh. The positive Selection Grade Constable belonged to Kupwara and had returned to Rajouri on duty after availing leave. However, the SPO who tested positive is local of village Gakhrote, Koteranka.
All of them have been shifted to COVID facilities.
Four more police constables of Police Training School (PTS) Kathua were among five persons who tested COVID positive in the district today.
District Magistrate Kathua OP Bhagat said all four constables of PTS Kathua had returned from Kashmir after availing leave and were under quarantine within the Training Centre after sampling. With this, eight constables of the PTS Kathua have reported positive for the virus during last two days taking total positives beyond 20.
Fifth positive of the district is a traveler hailing from Billawar.
Meanwhile, 1747 persons crossed Lakhanpur to enter J&K from various parts of the country during last 24 hours, Bhagat said.
Two safai karamcharis of Katra Municipality were among three persons who tested positive today in Reasi district.
Of two safai karamacharis, one is a male hailing from Ward No. 10 Katra while another is a female from Ward No. 6. Third positive of Reasi district had come to Mahore from Kashmir.
Lanes in both Ward Nos. 6 and 10 of Katra have been contained while the safai karamcharis were shifted to hospital. Their samples were taken during random sampling.
Three members of a family have tested Corona positive in Ramban district.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Fareed Bhat said a man from village Chathar in Chamalwas area of Banihal tehsil in Ramban district had already tested positive for the virus. Today, his wife, son and daughter also reported Corona positive.
A 27-year-old BSF jawan belonging to 168 battalion deployed at Achaad reported Corona positive in Poonch district on his return to duty from home, SSP Poonch Ramesh Angral said.
A 66-year-old man from Shiv Nagar, Udhampur was tested positive during random sampling.
Doda and Kishtwar districts didn’t report any Corona positive cases today.
Meanwhile, eight Corona patients were today treated and discharged from various COVID hospitals including four from Jammu, two from Kathua and one each from Poonch and Rajouri districts.
As per official figures, Jammu region now has 1809 Corona patients, of whom, only 490 are active as 1305 patients have been treated and discharged while there were 14 casualties due to COVID.
The Microbiology Department of the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu under the command of Dr Shashi S Sudhan, HoD has been regularly surpassing the figure of 2000 tests for COVID-19 per day. Over 2000 tests per day in the GMC laboratory were being done to test maximum persons for the virus.
Meanwhile, the Union Territory of Ladakh didn’t report any Corona positive case for second consecutive day today keeping tally static at 1005. However, the number of active cases in Ladakh has further come down to 168 including 86 in Leh and 82 in Kargil as 10 more patients were treated and discharged.
Condition of all active patients is stable, the officials said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
