Srinagar, April 13 : A 4-year-old girl from Bandipora and 12 non-locals were among 28 persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Kashmir as the number of COVID-19 patients surged past 200-mark in the Valley and pushed the J&K’s tally to 273.
“25 new cases of COVID-19 reported in J&K. All from Kashmir. Total now at 270,” Principal Secretary Information and the government spokesman Rohit Kansal tweeted. Three other cases surfaced hours after Kansal’s tweet and were confirmed at Chest Disease hospital by officials.
Official sources told GNS that nine among the fresh cases are from Bandipora, three each from Srinagar and Baramulla, one from Kulgam district while remaining twelve are non-locals from New Delhi who had been kept in quarantine by the Srinagar administration from March 27.
Regarding the Bandipora cases, they said, eight are from Gund Jahingeer village where the 52-year-old man died of the COVID-19 last week. Among them includes a 4-year-old girl, 50-year-old woman, her 30-year-old daughter besides three other females –31-year-old, 42-year-old and 40-year-old besides two males, one of them a minor (13) while other is a 22-year-old. The eighth case from the Bandipora is 22-year-old youth, a resident of Naidkhai area who contracted the disease from a previous patient.
The other northern Kashmir district—Baramulla—recorded three cases—a 45-year-old and a 30-year-old man from Sopore while the other is a 70-year-old man from Tangmarg, all contacts of previous COVID-19 patients. The Kulgam case, they said, is a 49-year-old wife of a previous patient, Deputy Commissioner, Showkat Aijaz Bhat told GNS.
Regarding 12 non-locals whose samples returned positive for the coronavirus are said to be from New Delhi. “They were placed under quarantine from March 27,” Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary told GNS. As soon as they tested positive, they were shifted from quarantine centre at Pampore to SKIMS Bemina, sources told Global News Service.
Regarding the Srinagar cases, they said, include 50-year-old and 51-year-old women from Chattabal area, both contacts of previous COVID-19 patient, while other is a 27-year-old woman from Zunimar Nowshera area and he had travelled to New Delhi recently.
Meanwhile, sample reports of a newborn girl, whose mother turned COVID-19 a day after she was born, came out to be negative.
With these fresh cases, the officially confirmed tally stands at 273—48 in Jammu and 225 in Kashmir. Four people have died due to the deadly infection in the J&K while 16 others—nine from Jammu and seven from Kashmir divisions including two minor sisters from Natipora Srinagar have recovered and have been discharged, leaving the active cases in Kashmir to 215 and 38 in Jammu.
Meanwhile, the government informed that 53679 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance which includes 8581 persons in-home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 354 in Hospital Quarantine, 250 in hospital isolation and 30634 under home surveillance. Besides, 13856 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period. The Bulletin further said that 3795 samples have tested as negative till April 13.
