Two treated, discharged; Ramban now COVID-free
Two trains arrive in Udhampur on Day 2
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 13: Jammu today reported second Corona casualty with a symptomatic old person dying before reaching the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu while seven more persons including five in Kathua and two in Jammu district tested positive for COVID-19 today taking total number of positive cases in the region to 98 and active cases to 39 as two patients-one each from Reasi and Ramban districts-were treated and discharged from the Chest Diseases Hospital. Click here to watch video
Ramban district has now become COVID-free as it had only one Corona positive patient, who was a trader from Srinagar, but was tested positive during administrative quarantine at Batote when he was heading home from New Delhi in a truck along with about dozen other persons.
This is the first COVID casualty in Jammu district and second in Jammu region as a woman hailing from Tikri village in Udhampur district had died earlier due to Coronavirus.
Doctors said a 75-year old resident of Preet Nagar, Digiana under the jurisdiction of Gandhi Nagar police station in Jammu district had developed symptoms on May 8 but was being treated locally by the family. He was shifted to the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu last night where he was declared as brought dead.
GMC Jammu Medical Superintendent Dr Dara Singh told the Excelsior that the patient had died on arrival in the hospital and his sample was taken as he was symptomatic. Further, his son had reached the house from New Delhi on April 23. The body was kept in the mortuary and test report came positive today, he said.
Soon after the person tested positive, the GMC authorities started identification of doctors and other staff who had examined him. They are being isolated for sample testing. The family will be isolated, quarantined and subjected to sample testing after cremation of the man.
Police teams led by SHO Gandhi Nagar police station Inspector Gurnam Choudhary have started sealing Preet Nagar area as it has been declared as Containment Zone following death of the elderly person.
Cremation of the Corona positive man couldn’t take place at Jogi Gate this evening due to objections raised by the locals after which the body was brought back to the GMC mortuary. It will be cremated tomorrow.
With today’s death, total number of Corona casualties in Jammu and Kashmir have gone up to 11 as the Valley has recorded nine deaths.
A 67-year old man from New Plots, Jammu also tested positive for Coronavirus today. He is a resident of the same Lane where a renal failure 40-year old woman had tested positive a day before during her treatment in the Government Medical College Jammu. His sample was taken during random sampling of the Containment Zone.
A 42-year old man hailing from village Seri Panditan near Kot Bhalwal in Jammu district has tested positive for Corona. He had travel history of New Delhi and was sent to the Chest Diseases Hospital in Bakshi Nagar.
Five workers including four from Kathua district and another from Shopian district of South Kashmir tested positive for COVID-19 today in a Srinagar laboratory where there samples had been sent from a quarantine centre in Kathua district.
All five had crossed Lakhanpur during return of stranded passengers from different parts of the country and were under administrative quarantine in Kathua.
Three of them, aged 26, 22 and 33 belonged to Basohli tehsil of Kathua district and had travel history of New Delhi, Gujarat and Hapur in Uttar Pradesh where they were working while fourth-a 54 year old man hailed from Marheen in Kathua district and had returned from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
A 30-year old youth from Shopian district, who had returned from New Delhi and was under administrative quarantine in Kathua district, also tested positive for Coronavirus.
Sources said the New Plots and Seri Panditan men of Jammu as well as five positive cases of Kathua district were asymptomatic and have been admitted in the Chest Diseases Hospital, Bakshi Nagar.
The Microbiology Department of the GMC Jammu today conducted 905 Corona tests under the supervision of HoD Microbiology Dr Shashi S Sudhan taking total number of tests conducted in the GMC Jammu beyond 15,000 and screening confirmation tests above 20,000.
With today’s seven cases, a total of 23 Corona positive cases have been reported in the Jammu region during last three days. Total number of Corona cases in the region has now gone up to 98 and active cases to 39 as two positive patients-one each from Reasi and Ramban districts were treated and discharged today. A total of 57 Corona patients have been treated and discharged while there have been two deaths.
Medical Superintendent CD Hospital Bakshi Nagar Dr Rajeshwar Sharma told the Excelsior that the two patients from Jamlan, Mahore in Reasi and Ramban tested negative for COVID-19 twice and were sent home today.
The Reasi patient is a teacher and had attended a Tableegh while the Ramban patient is a trader from Srinagar and was heading home from New Delhi in a truck when he along with dozen others was intercepted between Batote and Ramban and kept under quarantine. During sample testing, he had reported positive.
Meanwhile, two more trains reached Udhampur Railway Station today from New Delhi and Goa carrying around 2000 stranded persons of Jammu and Kashmir.
Commissioner/Secretary Industries and Commerce Manoj Kumari Dived told the Excelsior that four trains have reached Udhampur during last two days.
“Two trains reached Udhampur yesterday from Karnataka and Goa and two arrived today from New Delhi and Goa,” Dwivedi, who is Overall Incharge of management of stranded persons at Udhampur Railway Station said, adding that 1075 persons had reached in first train from Bangalore, 966 in second train from Goa, 1216 in third train from New Delhi and around 900 in fourth train from Goa.
Dwivedi said all stranded persons are being sent to respective district headquarters for sample testing and quarantine.
Deputy Commissioner Udhampur Dr Piyush Singla, who is supervising return of stranded passengers at Udhampur Railway Station, said the arrival of people has been smooth as all of them are being registered and sent to district headquarters in buses as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
“More trains will reach Udhampur from different States in the coming days. All arrangements for arrival of the stranded persons and their dispatch to different district headquarters have been finalized,” Dr Singla said.
SSP Udhampur Rajiv Pandey, Senior IFS officer Vasu Yadav and GM DIC Udhampur Suram Sharma also supervised arrangements at Udhampur Railway Station.
Meanwhile, first passenger train to Jammu will reach tomorrow morning from New Delhi after the lockdown.
SSP Jammu Sridhar Patil said all arrangements have been made for keeping the persons arriving through the first train and subsequently through the daily train from New Delhi at different quarantine centres in Jammu for sample testing.
“All passengers arriving by the train will be administratively quarantine and subjected to sample testing for COVID-19. They will be allowed to go home when the sample tests negative. Those whose sample tests positive, if any, will be sent to hospitals,” Patil said.
He added that security personnel have been deployed in strength outside all quarantine centres.
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