Jammu and Kashmir on Monday witnessed five Covid-induced deaths and 2,827 fresh infections. Kashmir valley witnessed the highest 618 cases in Srinagar followed by 315 in Baramulla
Jammu and Kashmir on Monday witnessed five Covid-induced deaths and 2,827 fresh infections – reporting a drop of 19 percent over Sunday’s cases. Since January 6, the cases have been consistently increasing from 349 to an 8-month high of 3,499 on Sunday. Of the total infections on Monday, Kashmir valley saw 1,734 infections while 1,093 cases and five deaths were reported in the Jammu division.
Jammu division’s Jammu district reported the highest 711 cases followed by 122 in Udhampur and 52 in Samba.
Kashmir valley witnessed the highest 618 cases in the summer capital Srinagar followed by 315 cases in Baramulla, 295 in Budgam, and 168 in Anantnag. Jammu district has the highest number of Covid active cases at 4,289 followed by Srinagar and Baramulla districts with 3,877 and 2,514 active cases, respectively.
This month has witnessed a steep rise in cases. As many as 2,456 cases were detected on Friday, 1,996 cases on Thursday, 1,695 cases on Wednesday, and 1,148 on Tuesday. From January 5 to 10, the union territory saw between 400 to 700 cases daily. The number of patients who were cured in the UT was 777 with active positive cases reaching 17,928.
However, of the 4,794 beds dedicated for Covid patients, just over 7 percent or 344 are occupied, indicating that the higher cases are not translating into higher hospital admissions. The authorities have already imposed restrictions over weekends and have stopped non-emergency OPD services at prominent hospitals.
The Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Monday said lockdown should be decided on the basis of the number of patients hospitalised with Covid rather than the number of positive cases. “Hospitalisation rates, not case count, should determine curbs and restrictions,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr. Nisar ul Hassan.
He said while the Omicron variant causes a lot of infections, most of the infections are mild. “Even though the positivity rate is high, most of the cases do not require hospitalisation,” he said. “We should be shifting our focus on Covid-related hospitalisations, bed occupancy, and the number of patients on ventilators. “That should be the major metric and not cases in deciding about imposing severe restrictions, like lockdown,” he added.
The officials said 64,017 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours in the UT. The authorities have been conducting between 42,000 and 56,000 average daily tests every month from May to December. The government’s daily health bulletin also said that 55,629 vaccine doses were administered taking overall doses administered in the UT to 1.991 crore. The overall number of people who have recovered reached 3,39,700 prompting the recovery rate to reach 93.78%. Since the pandemic started, the overall cases in J&K have reached 3,62,200 and the death toll has reached 4,572.
The Jammu district has the highest number of 1,173 fatalities followed by Srinagar with 886 deaths. Meanwhile, the University of Kashmir on Monday deferred all ongoing and scheduled examinations with effect from January 18, 2022, until further notice in view of the pandemic.
Controller of examinations Prof Irshad A Nawchoo said the revised dates for the deferred examinations shall be notified separately in due course of time.
