Baramulla: While nine persons test positive for COVID-19 from north Kashmir’s Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts, Bandipora has crossed the mark of 100 positive cases on Thursday and became the first district to have more than a 100 cases across J&K as twenty people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Kashmir Valley, taking the number of the Covid-19 patients in J&K to 427.
Among the samples which returned positive in the valley include nine from four from Kupwara, three from Baramulla, two from Bandipora district of north Kashmir district, a health official said.
In Baramulla, wife of the GMC doctor who tested positive yesterday is among three persons from Baramulla who have tested positive for COVID-19. The two others are an elderly woman from Tawheed Gunj old town Baramulla and a 55-year-old man from Uri.
“With these three cases Baramulla district has total 50 positive cases and around 60 people are in quarantine centres,” said Nodal Officer Covid -19 Baramulla Dr. Zulfikar.
A top health official Medical Block Sheeri said that three more persons have tested positive including the wife of the first Covid-19 positive doctor in Jammu and Kashmir working in GMC Associate hospital Baramulla.
He said the two others include a woman from old town Baramulla and an elderly resident of Uri who has been now kept officially under quarantine.
“We have traced 17 contacts of the old town woman in different areas of Baramulla in a day which includes her family members, relatives and a local milkman and chemist Besides we have traced the two doctor, four paramedics, two x-ray technicians- one from a private clinic,”
“All 15 primary contacts traced out on the fast track from different areas have been quarantined in Degree College Baramulla and two are with the patient in Srinagar hospital,” said a health official leading contact tracing team of health blocks Sheeri said.
Official’s sources said that a 55- year old man tested positive for COVID- 19 in Uri he was affiliated with Tablighi Jamaat and was contact with previously infected persons.
“He was already in quarantine centre at JNV Shakote Boniyar. Interestingly, his first sample had tested negative earlier. The official said in the last two days we have sent a total 26 samples to SKIMS for testing and the remaining 25 have come negative.
Meanwhile, 33 more persons were discharged from quarantine in quarantine centre TRC Salamabad Uri after their tests came negative on Thursday.
Duty Magistrate Uri Naveed Altaf confirmed that tall 33 persons were under thorough medical supervision throughout their quarantine period and were discharged today only after testing negative.
“After clearance from doctors and health authorities with the strict directions to remain in home quarantine, were let to go home,” he added.
Bandipora district in north Kashmir became the first district to have more than a 100 cases across Jammu and Kashmir.
Official sources said that among them 18 were confirmed at SKIMS laboratory while one each at CD hospital, only two positive cases came from Bandipora. However with these two cases, this north Kashmir distinct has 101 COVID-19 patients, highest in all districts of Jammu and Kashmir followed by Srinagar (79), Baramulla (50), Shopian (55), Kupwara (35), Jammu (26), Udhampur (20), Ganderbal (14), Budgam (14), Anantnag (9), Kulgam (6), Rajouri (4), Samba (4), Pulwama (3), Kishtwar (1) and Ramban (1)
In Kupwara, four more positive cases from Red Zone Anderhama, all contacts of earlier positive patients talking tally to 35 positive cases in the district
However, other 84 samples have tested negative thus completing the testing process in all the other 6 Red Zones of the district except Anderhama where contact tracing and testing will continue.
“With these four cases, a total number of active cases for Kupwara stands at 35 now,” said Deputy Commissioner Kupwara Anshul Garg.
