War on Covid: Recovery rate jumps to 96% in J&K

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir seems to be winning the battle against COVID 19 with recovery rate touching almost 96 percent in December.

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.

Data suggest that so far 120293 people have contracted Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir since March 17 when the first case was reported from Srinagar.

Of the 120293 positive patients, 115261 have recovered. This has pushed the overall recovery rate to 95.8 percent. In November, the recovery rate had jumped to 92.9 percent from 87 percent in October.

So far 1875 patients have died in the union territory. They include 1183 from the Kashmir division.

In the Kashmir region, so far 70669 people have tested positive for Covid-19, of whom 67906 have recovered. Around 49624 persons tested positive for Covid-19 in Jammu, of whom 47355 have recovered.

On Monday, 156 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir. They include 90 from the valley.

The drop in the cases has eased the burden on the dedicated Covid hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir. As per the data, hospitals in J&K have a capacity of 3666 Covid-19 beds. Currently, 436 patients are admitted to the hospitals. As many as 263 patients are on oxygen support in isolation wards. Around 3009 beds are currently vacant. Also,  221 ICU beds are vacant in Covid hospitals.

 Earlier in August, the government revised the guidelines and allowed home quarantining of the asymptomatic patients. In the same month, the recovery rate jumped to 66 percent.

Doctors claim that the Covid situation in Jammu and Kashmir was improving as the number of fresh cases declined with improvement in recoveries.

“Presently in India and Kashmir in particular, we are in a receding phase. We will have to live with Covid. We, however, shall have to change our lifestyle by minimum socialization and adhering to the guidelines,” said Dr. Aijaz Nabi Koul, head of the Infectious Diseases unit and In-charge Covid-19 at SKIMS.