Srinagar: Dubbed as coronavirus hotspot, people in Gund Jahangir village have heaved a sigh of relief after the random tests have come back negative.
Gund Jahangir, a village with 604 households and 3,650 residents in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district was the most affected zone in Bandipora district after 48 people tested Covid-19 positive. Earlier, a 54-year-old man had died of Covid-19 positive in the village.
Fearing community spread, the administration conducted a random sampling in Dangerpora Mohalla.
SDM Sumbal Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari told The Kashmir Monitor that the administration tested 600 people in the village during the mass sampling drive.
“From last two days, the village has reported zero Covid-19 positive case. Most of the samples collected came back negative,” he said.
Bukhari said they have covered 90 per cent of the Dangerpora Mohalla during their mass sampling campaign.
“We have almost completed collecting samples in the Mohalla. Test reports have come back negative. Positive cases have been put under administrative quarantine,” he said.
Bukhari rejected the reports of community transmission in the village. “It is just contraction of the virus and nothing like community transmission” he said.
As per the official figures currently, 150 people are in administrative quarantine and around 400 are in home quarantine.
The administration has declared the entire village as a red zone. Forces have been deployed in strength to enforce the lockdown.
The authorities recently established two centers in Sumbal area and procured testing kits to intensify its mass sampling drive.
The rapid testing has relieved locals of the area who were psychologically disturbed due to the rising Covid-19 cases in the village.
“We are relieved that no new cases of Covid-19 have been reported. The authorities have intensified testing. People are voluntarily approaching for tests,” said Mehraj Ahmad a local resident.