Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir today recorded two fresh Covid-19 deaths taking the total number of people who died of the deadly virus to 71 in the Union Territory, health officials said.

They said that two patients– an 80-year-old man from Srinagar and a 65-year-old man from Shopian — succumbed to the infection at a hospital today.

“An 80-year-old patient from Srinagar who was admitted to the hospital on June 16 died on June 17. The patient’s samples were taken for testing and the results came positive today. The patient was suffering from hypertension and bilateral pneumonia and had other underlying ailments,” said Medical Superintendent SMHS hospital Srinagar, Dr Nazir Choudhary.

He said that another patient from Shopian district of south Kashmir aged 65 was admitted in SMHS for acute breathlessness on June 17. “He died on the same evening. He also tested positive for the virus,” Dr Choudhary said.

With the fresh deaths, the Covid-19 toll in J&K has gone up to 71 in the UT. Srinagar district has so far witnessed the highest number of deaths due to the pandemic at 17. “Baramulla district of Kashmir has recorded 12 deaths, eight each in Kulgam and Shopian, six in Anantnag district and Jammu, five in Kupwara, three in Budgam, two in Pulwama while one each from Bandipora, Doda, Udhampur and Rajouri districts of J&K. Of the total 71 deaths, 62 have been witnessed in Kashmir and nine from Jammu.

Senior medicos in J&K’s top hospitals including SKIMS Soura and SMHS have already declared that there was a community transmission of virus in the UT and the recent announcement of the administration about relaxations that saw opening of shops after 85 days was “like a double edged sword.”

The medicos said now that people were coming out in large numbers, there was a possibility that the virus may have affected a large population. However, Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, Associate Professor, Medicine at Government Medical College Srinagar has asserted that so far “Covid-19 has behaved mildly in J&K and it remains to be seen in new few weeks in which direction it goes, now that the people have resumed normal activities including business.” J&K has so far recorded close to 5,500 Covid positive cases since the outbreak of the pandemic on March 20.

Meanwhile, leading epidemiologist and noted gastroenterologist of Kashmir, Dr Muhammad Sultan Khuroo has appealed people to “follow discipline” before situation turns ugly. “It’s an irony that people are out in large numbers on roads, but less than five percent are wearing masks and the majority of this 5 per cent wear masks for either fun or compulsion. I have observed some people keeping masks on their mouth and nose is open. Some cover their necks with masks and some keep it in their hands. There is no discipline at all,” said Dr Khuroo, who has been nominated as the chairman of the expert committee constituted by the J&K government to find out “suitable measures” to fight Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Khuroo said that “it’s like now or never.” “People should follow discipline otherwise we are inviting a disaster. Community transmission is already in Kashmir but it hasn’t crossed stage two. If it crosses stage three, the situation would be very ugly,” he said and urged people to follow guidelines and precautions in spirit if they want to win the fight against the pandemic.

-ARK/RJV