COVID-19: Doctors, cops infected in Kashmir, community spread feared

At least four new deaths were recorded in Jammu and Kashmir Valley due to COVID-19 in the last two days, thus taking the overall death toll due to the infection in the region to 16. The region is witnessing a sharp spike in coronavirus cases with 55 J&K Police personnel, five doctors and a few pregnant women also testing positive for the virus.

At present, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the region stands at 1,289. In the last three days, Jammu and Kashmir reported 276 fresh cases, of which 106 were recorded on Monday, 62 on Sunday, and 108 on Saturday.

Top health professionals attribute the steep rise in positive cases in the Kashmir Valley to three factors: One, the arrival of Kashmiri professionals and students from various parts of the globe; two, aggressive testing; and three, the possible ‘community spread’ of the virus.

According to the government’s COVID-19 medical bulletin, most of the cases continue to emerge from the Kashmir Valley.

Frontline warriors at risk

Doctors are at a greater risk of getting infected with the infection. In a latest update, five doctors from Srinagar’s three hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19. Three of them, including two senior consultants, are from a premier hospital, while one each are from Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Bemina and Dental College, Srinagar.

Obviously, this new development has caused anxiety in the medical fraternity.

Dr. Suhail Naik, consultant paediatrician and president, Doctors Association of Kashmir (DAK), said that the virus after reaching Kashmir through individuals with history of foreign travel has showed it’s sustenance with very high communicability even when preventive measures are being taken during the ongoing fourth phase of the strict lockdown.

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“The COVID-19 graph is showing progressive steep in curve. It depicts that the virus is either spreading in community or the rate of testing has enhanced. That said, getting positive cases of coronavirus even after completion of lockdown 3.0 is definitely not a good sign,” Dr. Naik told The Federal.

Among the infected are 12 pregnant women, which is also a cause of concern.

“Finding pregnant ladies positive for COVID-19 during routine screening as per the ICMR guidelines shows that the virus is spreading in community. It is an ominous sign,” Dr. Naik feared. However, he said the patients in Kashmir were “behaving favourably to the infection.” Around 90 per cent of the COVID-19 patients in the region are either asymptomatic or having mild symptoms. The mortality rate too is not alarming.

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“Among the 1,289 COVID positive cases, 609 (about 48 per cent) have recovered and 16 (1.24  per cent) have died. Fourteen of those who died were aged and had multiple co-morbidities, while the other two were young,” he said.

One of the latest casualties was a 29-year-old woman from the summer capital who died at Srinagar’s Chest Disease (CD) hospital. According to the doctors, the lady hailing from Srinagar had suffered septic shock.

Those who passed away on Monday included a 65-year-old woman from south Kashmir’s Kokernag in Anantnag district. She was suffering from thyroid cancer. Another victim was a 75-year-old patient from Hillar Kokernag in the same district.

COVID-19 concerns cops

South Kashmir’s Anantnag district is on the edge since several police personnel have tested positive at District Police Lines Anantnag. A senior police official told The Federal that 55 cops have tested positive in the Kashmir Valley while 11 of them have recovered.

Most of the cases (43) are from the Anantnag region. Other districts where cops have been found infected include central Kashmir’s Budgam and Ganderbal districts, south Kashmir’s Shopian and Kulgam, and north Kashmir’s Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara districts.

“Most of the cases are from District Police Lines (DPL) Anantnag. Several personnel of the Indian Reserve Police battalion have tested positive at DPL Anantnag. We have 43 cases from the district while the rest of the cases are from other districts,” a police officer said.

Another official said that one of those infected is an SSP-ranked officer.

Meanwhile, among the five doctors who tested positive, two are senior consultants. A senior anaesthesiologist and intensivist feared that “the situation related to COVID-19 was by no means under control.”

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“We, as people, are not strictly following the preventive measures to make sense of the lockdown. Some people sans masks do come out of their homes unnecessarily. The situation is complex and definitely not under control,” said consultant anaesthesiologist Dr. Masood Rashid. According to him, people should strictly follow the lockdown guidelines and avoid coming to hospitals unless it is an emergency.

Dr. Suhail Naik said the behaviour of the virus needs to be closely monitored as the outcome of the infection is “very unpredictable” and depends upon several factors ranging from age to immune competence.

Doctors in Jammu and Kashmir are now worried over the testing positive of the members of the medical and paramedical staff. Not long ago, a microbiologist from Jammu province and a medical officer from the Kashmir region had also tested positive.

Besides, Jammu and Kashmir administration said it has evacuated over 50,000 of its residents stranded outside the region. Some of them were able to reach Jammu and Udhampur areas in special trains.

Meanwhile, the Anantnag administration has decided to go for aggressive testing, while in view of the upcoming Eid festival, the COVID screening of traders dealing with essential commodities like bakery and confectionary has already begun.