News Analysis India

Tag: Kashmir COVID cases

  • COVID-19: J&K records highest single-day spike with 3832 cases; curfew extended in four districts till May 6 

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday witnessed the highest single-day spike of 3832 COVID cases with 47 deaths, the highest death toll due to Covid in the state since the outbreak of coronavirus last year.

    In view of the surge in Covid cases and deaths, the administration has extended curfew in four districts including Srinagar up to May 6.

    Of the 47 Covid deaths, 30 were reported from the Jammu region and 17 in the Kashmir region.

    With the fresh deaths, the toll due to Covid in J&K has risen to 2330, of which 1411 are from Kashmir and 919 from Jammu.

    Of the 3832 cases, 1231 were reported from the Jammu region and 2601 from Kashmir.

    Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, accounted for 1084 cases which is 28.28% of the cases recorded today. The north Kashmir district of Baramulla recorded 819 cases, central Kashmir’s Budgam 742 and Jammu 504 cases.

    In the last 24 hours, 1801 Covid patients have recovered, of which 689 were from the Jammu region and 1112 from Kashmir. The number of recovered patients in J&K now stands at 1,47,242 with 88,578 from Kashmir and 58,664 from the Jammu region.

    At present J&K has a total of 30,343 active cases, 19,171 are from Kashmir and 11,172 from the Jammu region.

    The administration decided to extend the 84-hour Corona curfew that was imposed in 11 out of 20 districts on Thursday. The curfew was extended in the four worst-hit districts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam, and Jammu till 7 am on May 6.

    The curfew, which was imposed at 7 pm on Thursday, was to be lifted at 7 am on May 3.

    The government stated that the Corona curfew at night shall continue in all municipal and urban local body limits of all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

    “The night curfew will be in force from 8 pm to 7 am. Other restrictions when the curfew is not there continue as before,” added an official spokesman.

  • Huge tourist inflow caused COVID-19 cases spike in Jammu & Kashmir

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: While it was the campaign extravaganza that triggered a case surge in poll-bound states, in Jammu and Kashmir, a huge tourist inflow enamoured by the famed Tulip garden led to 20.34 per cent spike in Kashmir and 26 per cent rise in Srinagar between March 25 and April 25.

    On the day Asia’s biggest Tulip garden in Srinagar was thrown open to public (March 25) after a lockdown-induced hiatus, the Valley registered 131, including Srinagar’s 65 fresh cases. The active case tally in the Valley at that time was 1,209, while Srinagar had only 747. 

    During the one-month period between March 25 and April 25, the Tulip garden registered 2.30 lakh footfalls, including 80,000 outstation tourists. By April 25, when all paid parks, including Tulip garden, were closed, Kashmir’s tally had risen from 76,658 to 96,237 cases, registering an addition of 19,579 cases and accounting for 20.34 per cent of the total cases recorded in the Valley.

    Further, the positivity rate in Srinagar rose 26 per cent between March 25 and April 25, with it adding 10,447 fresh cases to its tally in a month. The city recorded its highest addition of 748 cases on April 25. The Valley recorded 82 deaths during the period, of which 41 were from Srinagar district alone.  

    The doctors and civil society members have attributed the surge in COVID cases to the opening of the gardens.

    Doctors Association Kashmir president and influenza expert, Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, said: “The authorities kept the gardens open and thousands thronged the gardens daily and it could have been a factor for the surge in the Valley and the eventual rise in hospitalisation and death, too.”

  • COVID-19 surge: Government orders closure of schools in Jammu & Kashmir

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: A day after inaugurating the six-day Tulip festival in Srinagar, the Lt Governor administration in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday ordered closure of schools upto 9th class for two weeks and 10th, 11th and 12th classes for one week.

    “In view of rising trend in COVID cases in Jammu and Kashmir and likelihood of young children getting infected and transmitting infection in large numbers, all classes upto and including Class 9 in schools will be closed for 2 weeks in all schools beginning on Monday (April 5) till 18 April 21 in J&K,” announced Lt Governor’s office.

    It further said classes 10, 11 & 12 will also be closed for one week in all schools from Monday (April 5) till April 11 in the entire Jammu & Kashmir territory. The government also announced that all gatherings for social and customary functions will be restricted to 200 members and after following due COVID SOPs and protocols.

    There has been a surge in COVID-19 cases across Jammu and Kashmir. with the U/T  recording 3408 cases since March 25.

    The closure of schools will come as a major relief for the parents, who had been urging the government to order closure of schools and going back to online mode of teaching in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases.

    The total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir has risen to 132439. Of them, 3574 are active positive, 126860 have recovered. Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed 2005 deaths due to COVID-19. Of the total deaths, 740 have been reported in Jammu region and 1265 in Kashmir.