Another day of steep spike in Covid-19 cases in J&K

On Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 3,474 fresh Covid-19 positive cases as 26 patients succumbed to the virus - the highest toll in a single day in the union territory (UT) since the onset of pandemic last year.

According to the daily media bulletin, with 3,474 new Covid-19 cases, the tally has reached 1,72,551. Along with that, 26 more fatalities were reported in the UT, taking the death toll to 2253, it said.

On April 27, J&K had reported 3,164 Covid positive cases which was the highest number in the UT since the pandemic erupted last year in March. Last year's all-time high in J&K was 1,698 daily positive cases on September 12.

The numbers in Jammu and Kashmir have climbed rapidly. In March, the UT had recorded 4,519 Covid-19 infections and 37 deaths. In February, there were 1,935 cases and 21 deaths. The peak of the first Covid wave was in September when the UT had witnessed 37,372 cases and 478 deaths.

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On April 1, the UT had registered 461 cases, taking the total number of active Covid-19 patients to 2,874. Just 29 days later, the total number of active positive cases has risen by over nine times to 26,144. The UT has also recorded 259 deaths in the 29-days of April.

According to health experts the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases may be driven by the high transmissibility of the virus

“There are two differences we have witnessed in the virus’s behaviour this year,” Dr Muhammad Salim Khan, the head of the community medicine at the Government Medical College, Srinagar, said. “Transmission is relatively fast and it’s affecting all kinds of age groups. Last year, we didn’t see many younger people having symptoms despite testing positive but this time even younger people and children are affected and showing symptoms.”