33 of J&K’s 47 new cases from Jammu region, total 1688 Jammu lawyer, Kulgam woman die; Advisor’s wife, son found infected

Eight localities in winter capital declared red zones

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Two more people, including a 63-year-old lawyer from Trikuta Nagar and a 65-year-old woman from Kulgam, have died of coronavirus, taking the death toll due to the disease in Jammu and Kashmir to 23, even as 47 more persons have been found infected, with the total count of infections soaring to 1688, which also included the wife and son of one of the Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu.

As many as 33 of the 47 new cases were reported from Jammu region, and 21 from winter capital alone, following which the district administration her declared several localities—8 to be precise-- in Jammu district as containment areas or red zones.

Fourteen other cases on Monday were reported from Kashmir Valley. While the government’s official bulletin latest by 4:30 pm didn’t mention of any recovery, official sources said that at least 11 patients were discharged from Jammu region, while some more infections were also reported, but for want of official confirmation.

Both the deceased had died on Sunday and their samples returned positive on Monday, officials said.

An Income Tax lawyer hailing from Sector 1, Trikuta Nagar became the third casualty of Covid-19 in Jammu region, testing positive for the deadly disease hours after he died at ASCOMS Sidhra due to multiple complications.

"We had the first coronavirus-related death. The deceased had co-morbidities also and was admitted to the hospital on May 22," Medical Superintendent, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Science, Dr Rabinder Rattanpal said, adding the lawyer breathed his last at the Hospital due to multiple complications on Sunday night.

He said the hospital had taken all necessary precautions during the treatment of the patient and had collected his sample for coronavirus testing after admission.

"We received the report hours after his death on Sunday night and the set protocol was being followed to hand over his body to the concerned," he said.

This was the third COVID-related death in Jammu region. Earlier, the test report of a 72-year-old man had come out as positive for coronavirus shortly after his death in Jammu on May 13. On April 9, a 61-year-old woman from Udhampur district died of the disease.

A 65-year-old lady from Bugam village in Kulgam was the second death due to Covid-19 on Monday.

"The woman was admitted to SMHS Hospital Srinagar on Friday with bilateral pneumonia but died the next day. Her reports came today and she tested positive for COVID-19," an official said.

The body of the woman had been kept in the mortuary as doctors had suspected that she might be COVID-19 positive. The official said the Kulgam district administration has been informed about the woman's death and contact-tracing has begun.

Her death raised the toll in Kashmir valley to 20, with the highest number of six fatalities in Srinagar, followed by four each in Anantnag and Baramulla districts, three in Kulgam, two in Budgam and one in Bandipora district.

A total of 47 fresh positive cases were reported across Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, taking the total cases in UT to 1688, including 1,374 in the Valley and 294 in Jammu region.

Among those found positive on Sunday, were the son and wife of one of the advisors to the lieutenant governor G C Murmu, even as the advisor himself has gone into self-quarantine at the Narayana super-speciality hospital Kakrayal in Reasi district waiting for his test reports.

The officials said the advisor's wife and son had returned from Delhi a few days back and were staying at a guest house. The results of their samples came on Sunday night and they had tested positive for the disease, they said.

Sources said that advisor's wife is a doctor in Delhi and it is believed that she may have contracted the virus while on duty and her son may have transmitted it from his mother.

They said that both mother and son were tested immediately on arrival to Jammu and were placed under quarantine as per protocol.

“Both are asymptomatic and are undergoing treatment at an isolation ward at the Narayana hospital in Kakrayal,” they said.

The advisor's samples were also taken and sent for testing.

“Advisor is doing fine with no symptoms at all as we wait for his test reports. Contact tracing is also being done at the guest house and samples will be collected,” the officials said.

Meanwhile, 33 fresh cases were reported across Jammu region including 21 from the winter capital.

Of the other cases, 4 were reported from Kathua, 2 each from Udhampur, Poonch and Reasi district while one case each was reported from Ramban and Doda, as per the government’s daily media bulletin.

Sources informed that the 21 patients from Jammu district included three members of a family of Rajpura near Shakti Nagar, a girl from Praveen Colony in Channi Himmat, a student from Bakshi Nagar, a teenager from Mandal, a woman from Simbal Camp, and two from Talab Tillo among others.

However, in a seriously worrying development, a 62-year-old woman from Miran Sahib, a 32-year-old man from Kalyanpur Jhiri, a 48-year-old man from Gorkha nagar, and a 35-year-old man from Marh, all of whom have no travel history have also tested positive.

The administration has launched an intense tracing to find out the source of infection.

Three more persons from Jammu district including a 63- year old Male, admitted patient in the hospital, a 26-year old Male from Shakti Nagar and a 24 year old Male from transit camp also tested positive.

Following detection of a large number of new coronavirus cases including one death in the last 24 hours, several localities in the winter capital Jammu were declared containment areas or red zones on Monday.

District Development Commissioner, Jammu, Sushma Chauhan declared municipal ward number 52, 53 and 54 of Trikuta Nagar, municipal ward number 48 of Gurkha Nagar, Kalyanpura and Channi-Mawallian villages in Kanachak and Simbal and Kharian villages of Miran Sahib as red zones.

Quoting the separate orders issued by Chauhan, officials said the areas were declared containment or red zones after detection of fresh cases including one death from different parts of Jammu district which falls in the orange zone that saw increased economic activities with opening of shops and business establishments since May 20.

Issuing four separate orders to declare new red zones in the district, Chauhan said the already issued standard operating procedure (SOP) would apply to the red zone villages which would remain under strict lockdown and tight perimeter control, except for essential needs.

While the government’s media bulletin latest by 4:30 pm didn’t mention of any recovery, official sources said that at least 11 patients were discharged from Jammu region, while some more infections were also reported.

“Six patients from Kathua, two from Reasi including a 26-year-old man from Chasana and a 29-year-old man from ward 1, along with three patients from Samba district including a 35-year-old man from Jerda Nandpur, and two non-locals aged 37 and 20 years staying at Bari Brahmana were discharged from Chest Disease hospital Jammu after their recovery,” they said.

They also said that two fresh cases have emerged from Bari Brahmana in Samba district.

“A 35-year-old woman and her 7-year-old son, both residents of Ward 1 Bari Brahmana have tested positive for coronavirus on Monday evening,” they said.

Both of them have contracted the disease from an earlier infected patient and had been under adminstrative quarantine at MV international school Thandi Khui in Vijaypur since May 20.

With these positive cases, the total number of Corona patients in Jammu region has gone up to 294, 216 of them active, 75 recovered and 3 died.