J&K sees highest single-day jump with 40 COVID-19 positive cases

Registering single biggest jump since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday (April 25) saw 40 more people testing positive, taking the total number of coronavirus cases to 494.

The previous largest single-day spike for J&K was on April 8, with 33 cases. The highest single-day rise in COVID-19 positive cases comes at a time when the J&K government claims to have done 1000 tests per million. Earlier, it was 703 per million.

“Finally J&K breaks the 1000 test barrier- 1071 samples tested in the last 24 hours. But that also means more positives- so 40 new cases today- all from Kashmir. Total positive cases now 494. Jammu-57 Kashmir-437. An unfortunate death too; total deaths now 6 (sic),” J&K government spokesperson, Rohit Kansal, tweeted.

Earlier in the day, a 72-year-old patient from north Kashmir's Baramulla district died at a Srinagar hospital, taking the number of deaths due to novel coronavirus to six in J&K.

On Friday six children below the age of 16 were among 20 new COVID19 cases in J&K. The youngest among these was a five-year-old male child from Herpora in south Kashmir’s Shopian. Over 50% of cases in Kashmir valley are from two districts of Srinagar and Bandipora.

Gundjehangir, a nondescript village in Bandipora has become a hotspot for COVID-19, recording over 50 positive cases.