Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
Srinagar: New Year seems to have augured well for the Covid warriors as for the first time the Kashmir valley has recorded zero death due to the virus.
On December 30, January 1, and January 3, Kashmir reported zero death due to the virus. Jammu, however, reported one death each on December 30 and January 3.
Experts said the virus transmission chain has been severely hampered which has affected the mortality rate as well in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Transmission chain has been interrupted and that is why we are not receiving many cases. The immune response among the population has reached the level that there is no significant transmission,” Dr. Muhammad Saleem Khan, Head, Department of Community Medicine GMC Srinagar and Nodal Officer for Covid-19 at SMHS hospital told The Kashmir Monitor.
In fact, for the last one week, the fatalities are in the single-digit ranging from zero to six in Jammu and Kashmir.
On January 2, one COVID-19 death was reported from Kashmir Division. There was no fatality reported from the Jammu division on that day. On December 31, three COVID-19 deaths were reported from the union territory. They include two from Jammu and one from Kashmir division.
Four deaths were reported on December 29. They include two from Jammu Division and two from Kashmir Division. In the last one week, the highest of six deaths were reported on December 28. Five of them died in Kashmir and one in Jammu. On January 4, five deaths were reported in J&K. Of them three died in the valley and two in Jammu.
So far, around 1891 people have died due to Covid 19 in J&K. They include 791 in the Jammu division and 1190 in the Kashmir division.
Jammu and Kashmir has 121786 positive cases. Of whom 2684 are active positive and 117211 have recovered.
Till January 3, 904156 persons have been enlisted for observation. They include 16963 persons in-home quarantine, 2684 in isolation, and 33691 in-home surveillance. Besides, 848927 persons have completed their surveillance period.
Of the 3943822 test results available, 3822036 samples have been tested negative till January 3.
Official data accessed by The Kashmir Monitor reveal that the recovery rate of the Covid-19 patients in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 95.8 percent on December 29.
“Compared to 20 percent, the positivity rate has dipped to seven to 10 percent. Admissions and mortality have also gone down. We are getting a very few cases,” said Dr. Khan.
However, Dr. Khan warned against any complacency or lowering of guard. “Even if we receive vaccination shots, we need not be complacent. The reason is that the virus continues to mutate. There is a mutation in Europe and the UK. It can happen in any region and we need not lower our guard. In fact, we need to adhere to SOPs strictly,” he said.
Sounding alert, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) urged health authorities to prepare for the potential spread of the variant in the valley.
“New Covid-19 strain is knocking on our door. We need to be prepared and alert. The new variant is on the move and it can sneak in anytime. We have to prepare in advance to deal with the virus. Advance planning and preparedness are critical to mitigate the impact of any eventuality. We need to intensify surveillance activities and gear up hospitals to prevent an outbreak,” said DAK President Dr. Nisar ul Hassan.
