CRPF jawan among two more COVID-19 victims in Jammu and Kashmir; toll rises to 43

Two more COVID-19 deaths were reported in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, taking the overall toll in the Union Territory to 43.

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A paramilitary CRPF jawan posted in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district died at tertiary-care SKIMS hospital in Srinagar, while a patient from old city Khanyar area of Srinagar, who had met with an accident, took his last breath at Chest Diseases hospital early morning. Doctors said both the deceased tested positive for the deadly virus.

A doctor at the SKIMS said the CRPF man with underlying illness was admitted in the hospital on June 4. “His condition deteriorated and he died in the wee hours. He tested positive for the virus,” he said.

CRPF spokesman, Junaid Khan while confirming the death said the deceased was posted with the 90-Battalion. “He was a bit sick and had tested positive for the virus,” he said.

Asked whether the body of the deceased CRPF trooper would be dispatched to his native place, he said higher-ups will take a call on the issue. This is the first COVID-19 death in paramilitary CRPF in Kashmir since the outbreak of the pandemic in March.

A 35-year-old man from Khanyar, who had tested positive after he met with an accident, also passes away on Monday morning. The fresh deaths in Jammu and Kashmir have taken the total death toll across the Union Territory up to 43 -- 38 from Kashmir (including a non-local resident and a CRPF man), and five from Jammu region.