Srinagar- An 18-year-old covid-19 patient from Handwara area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district died at SMHS hospital here, officials said on Monday. The teenager is the youngest among the 61 persons who have succumbed to the virus in Jammu and Kashmir so far.
The teenager, who was admitted to the hospital as a “medico-legal case” with a serious head injury, died at 3 a.m., medical superintendent SMHS hospital, Dr Nazir Choudhary, told news agency GNS.
“He was admitted on June 12 as a medico-legal case. His swab sample (for the novel coronavirus) was taken next day. He had serious head injuries besides bilateral pneumonia,” Dr Choudhary said, adding, “later his sample returned positive for the virus.”
A lawyer told news agency GNS that a medico-legal case involves injury or illness that is under investigation by law enforcement agencies to establish and fix the criminal responsibility according to the law.
The teenager is the youngest to die of the covid-19. Till his death, the youngest victim was a 27-year-old resident from Lolab area of the north Kashmir district who succumbed to the pathogen 13 days ago at the very hospital. The teenager’s death also takes the fatality count of Kupwara due to the virus to five.
With this fatality, the death toll due to the pathogen has risen in Jammu and Kashmir to 61— 54 in Valley and 7 in Jammu division.
So far Srinagar district with fourteen deaths due to the virus has the highest fatalities, followed by eleven in Baramulla, eight in Kulgam, five each in Anantnag, Shopian & Kupwara, four in Jammu, three in Budgam, two in Pulwama while one death each has been reported in Bandipora, Doda, Rajouri & Udhampur. (GNS )
