COVID 19: Kashmir sexagenarian woman, who returned from Saudi Arabia, quarantined

A female patient with symptoms related to coronavirus was admitted in an isolation ward at Chest Diseases Hospital, here.

Reports said the sexagenarian lady from Chadoora area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district, who had returned to Kashmir from Saudi Arabia on March 16 after performing Umrah (mini Hajj), developed some symptoms related to COVID-19.

“One lady from Gund, Chadoora developed fever and cough symptoms after arriving from Saudi Arabia on March 16. She approached Sub-district hospital Chadoora today morning. We communicated to higher authorities and referred her to chest disease hospital Srinagar so that she would be quarantine properly,” Block Medical Officer (BMO) Chadoora, said.

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Sources said the lady was screened at the time of her arrival at Srinagar airport and the result was negative. “She returned on the same day when another lady from Khanyar (Srinagar), who was tested positive on Wednesday, arrived. Nothing is clear of as of now,” they said.

Meanwhile, a day after the first positive case of coronavirus was reported in Kashmir, nearly two dozen medical teams conducted house-to-house inspections in Khanyar area of old city Srinagar, where the positive case hails from.

“The medical teams went to all houses within 300-meter radius surrounding the house of the infected person and conducted relevant investigations to ascertain whether someone had come into contact with her,” an official spokesperson said.

He said that the entire area has been put under lockdown in efforts to prevent and contain the spread of the infection in the area and the district.

356 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period and, so far, only four cases have been tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the daily Media Bulletin on novel coronavirus, 3146 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance while as 2337 persons are under home quarantine.

Persons who are in hospital quarantine stand at 34 and 419 persons are under home surveillance. Further, the bulletin said that 156 samples have been sent for testing, of which 144 tested as negative and only four cases have tested positive, so far while as reports of eight cases are awaited till March 19.