Coronavirus: Jammu and Kashmir records first casualty

A man
infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) has died at a hospital in Srinagar. This
is the first COVID-19 related death reported from Jammu and Kashmir. The
65-year-old man psassed away in the early hours of Thursday at the Chest
Disease Hospital in Srinagar.

The
principal secretary to J&K government said in a tweet. “Sad news. First
death due to coronavirus. 65-year-old male from Hyderpora Srinagar. Four of his
contacts tested positive yesterday.”

Deputy
Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Chaudhary, in a one-word tweet, said,
“Unfortunate.”

Reports said
the deceased had a medical history of diabetes, hypertension and obesity. The
man is resident of Hyderpora in Srinagar but originally hails from Sopore in
Baramulla. He had recently traveled to New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu,
Indonesia and Malasiya with Tablighi Jamat, an Islamic organisation, one of the
biggest in Asia and outside.

The number
of positive cases of coronavirus has risen to 11 in Jammu and Kashmir, while
5,124 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put
under surveillance.

Out of 326
samples, 294 have tested negative while as 21 are awaited till March 25, 2020.
The government advisory urged people to strictly follow directions of the prime
minister’s 21-day lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The
government has forced a strict lockdown, the second in last seven months, on
Jammu and Kashmir, and people are cooperating. The administration has mobilised
healthcare officials, police and government officials on a war footing. The
Union Territory has also sealed its borders with Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and
Punjab and put up screening facilities at all entry points to identify the
affected people.