Covid-19 deaths in May raise an alarm in Jammu & Kashmir

The union territory (UT) recorded over 41% of its total Covid deaths in May only

Even as Jammu and Kashmir’s positivity rate has started to slide, the high number of Covid-19 fatalities in May has become a cause for concern.

The union territory (UT) recorded over 41 per cent of its total Covid deaths in May only. As per the official figures, the death toll on April 30 was 2283 which increased to 3870 on May 30. The other worry in the UT has been that deaths have more or less remained constant everyday throughout the month.

The month started with 47 Covid deaths in J&K on May 1. A week later on May 8, the number was 60 while on May 15, the number slightly grew to 63 before coming down to 48 on May 22. On May 29, the UT reported 46 deaths but on May 30 the deaths came below 30 mark for the first time in over a month.

The figures also point out the Jammu division is witnessing the majority of Covid fatalities in the second wave in comparison to Kashmir. However, Kashmir is recording a higher number of daily cases.

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The deaths in the Jammu region more than doubled in May. On April 30 the death toll in Jammu was 889 which increased to over 1888 on May 30. In Kashmir the number of Covid deaths was 1394 on April 30 which increased to 1982 on May 30.

Similarly, out of total 278859 positive cases, J&K has recorded 112857 cases in May which is over 40 per cent of total cases. However, from the high of 10.93 per cent on May 7, the positivity rate in the UT has come down to 5.31 per cent on Sunday.

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Health experts say with a gradual decline in active cases, over the next few days, the death rate too will come down. “There is always a lag time between a surge and casualties. A patient usually stays in ICU for 14 days before he recovers or dies. Hence, a surge in deaths remains even weeks after cases start declining,” a senior medico at tertiary-care SKIMS hospital in Srinagar told DH.

He said the fatality rate in the second wave is higher than the first one due to the mutant virus. “When the cases were at peak earlier this month, getting ICU and ventilator beds was difficult. Treatment in severe cases may have got delayed and many Covid patients may even have died at home in May,” the doctor revealed.