Jammu & Kashmir sees second death, 5 new cases

The Valley reported the second Covid-19 death and five new cases on Sunday taking the total number of positive cases in J&K to 38.
The death of a 62-year-old man from Tangmarg of north Kashmir who was tested positive on March 28 afternoon has once again hinted at community transmission as he had not recent travel history outside J&K or contact with any active or suspect case.

The J&K administration is yet to come clear on whether community transmission has started in Kashmir. However, they claim that they are aggressively testing at the rate of 10% people under observation, which they claim is better than many states in India.

As of now, J&K has reported 38 fresh cases, of which two persons have died while two have recovered. As many as 29 cases have been reported in the Kashmir division whilenine cases were reported from Jammu .“Unfortunate demise of a corona virus patient in Srinagar…five more positive cases confirmed in Kashmir…despite so many appeals people are still hiding travel history. The couple which tested positive hid their international travel history. This is criminal,” J&K government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said in a string of tweets. The family of deceased who passed away on Sunday claimed that seven of their family members are under quarantine and their whole village has been sanitised.

“A couple from our village with recent travel history to Saudi Arabia who are healthy and symptomatic were also sent for quarantine on Saturday. But they had arrived a month back. My father had no contact with any positive case or suspect, son of the deceased patient from Tangmarg told ET. He alleged that the doctors and paramedical staff at Chest Disease hospital in Srinagar, one of the main facilities for COVID19 patients, ill treated the deceased and the family.

"Nobody came forward for help. We were asked to put the patient inside the ward on our own without any protective gear. Other patients tested positive or suspects were also inside the same ward. A doctor asked me whether I knew how to install a nebuliser on patient. Later, he directed me to put Oxygen mask on my father, saying the he cannot go inside the ward despite wearing PPE," he said. The whole healthcare system, he lammented failed us miserably.

The rate at which positive cases are emerging across J&K is worrying especially in wake of the abysmal health care infrastructure.

A doctor posted in community health center in Hajin in northern Kashmir, from where seven people tested positive for the corona virus reffered to the area as Wuhan of Kashmir.

“Seven CoVID-19 positive patients till now and another 14 suspects admitted at SKIMS with reports awaited. About 60 family members, all asymptomatic, of positive patients along with some 50-odd other suspects in quarantine, all living within a radius of 3-4 kilometres. Such is the situation at the CHC Hajin control room it seems we are the Wuhan of Kashmir Valley, pray for all of us,” Dr Muzafar Zargar, wrote on social media.