In response to a surge in Covid-19 cases in the union territory, the Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered complete restrictions on non-essential movement during weekends.
The number of active positive cases crossed the 10,000 mark. However, officials said only 5.4 percent of hospital beds are occupied. The officials said 68,803 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, around 3,000 less than yesterday when more than 71,000 tests were conducted since the start of the pandemic.
Of the total infections on Friday, 934 cases and three deaths were reported in the Jammu division while Kashmir valley saw 1,522 infections and two fatalities. Jammu division’s Jammu district reported the highest 588 cases. Kashmir valley witnessed 464 cases in the summer capital Srinagar followed by 457 in Baramulla and 139 in Budgam.
Jammu district has the highest number of Covid active cases at 2,898 followed by Srinagar and Baramulla districts with 2202 and 1347 active cases, respectively. The union territory is witnessing a steep rise in novel Coronavirus cases since January 05.
As many as 1,966 were found on Thursday, 1,695 cases were detected on Wednesday, and 1,148 on Tuesday. From January 5 to 0, the union territory saw between 400 to 700 cases daily. The first four days of January had recorded daily cases ranging between 165 and 199 while in December the union territory had reported 143 average cases daily.
This is the first time after the last week of May that the UT has witnessed infections above 2500. The number of patients who were cured in the UT was 380 with active positive cases reaching 10,003. The government’s daily health bulletin also said that 72,309 vaccine doses were administered taking overall doses administered in the UT to 1.974 crores.
The overall number of people who have recovered reached 3,38,063 prompting the recovery rate to reach 95.93%. Since the pandemic started, the overall cases in J&K have reached 3,52,623 and the death tolls reached 4,557. The Jammu district has the highest number of 1,166 fatalities followed by Srinagar with 885 deaths.
Meanwhile, in response to a surge in Covid-19 cases in the union territory, the Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered complete restrictions on non-essential movement during weekends. The state’s Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction said the decision was taken in view of the uneven trend in daily Covid-19 cases and the rising positivity rate.
The new curb comes in the wake of 2,456 fresh Covid cases being reported in the union territory on Friday, the highest single-day jump since the beginning of the pandemic. Night curfew is already in force in all districts of Jammu and Kashmir from 9am to 6pm.
All schools, colleges, and coaching centers have been ordered closed, with only fully vaccinated staff permitted to come into work for administrative purposes. Cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes, restaurants, gyms, and swimming pools are allowed to function at 25 percent capacity.
A maximum of 25 people can attend any indoor and outdoor events. Banquet halls are permitted to allow gathering of 25 vaccinated people if they have a negative RT-PCR or RAT report not older than 72 hours, or 25 percent of the venue’s capacity, whichever is less.
District Magistrates have been directed to constitute inspection teams of district officers to check whether Covid-appropriate behavior is being adhered to and submit a daily report on the same. A zero-tolerance policy will be adopted and strict action will be taken against those found in violation of Covid norms. All districts have been ordered to accelerate the pace of vaccination. Timely administering of the second dose of vaccine should be ensured, while more efforts need to be made to bring down overdue figures.
