106 more test positive for COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir, tally rises to 1,289

A man checks his mobile phone as he sits on a cement block tied to concertina wire laid across a road in front of pharmacy shops during an extended lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease in Srinagar. Reuters

The number of COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 1,289 after 106 more people, including 55 policemen and five doctors, tested positive for the deadly virus on Monday.

On Saturday the Union Territory had reported its largest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases, with 108 new infections.

55 policemen - all from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and five doctors - were among the cases detected on Monday, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 12 are from Jammu while 94 are from Kashmir region.

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J&K has so far reported 15 COVID-19 deaths. So far, 609 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovery while 665 are Active Positive cases, they said.

The coronavirus outbreak was reported in Jammu and Kashmir on March 7, when two persons tested positive for the deadly infection.

Jammu and Kashmir is among the highest COVID-19 case density areas in the country which is over 100 cases per million of the population. According to the 2011 census, J&K’s population is 12.5 million.

The national average per million population so far is 70. With poor health infrastructure and climatic conditions Valley also becomes one of the most high-risk zones for the coronavirus outbreak.