Six-day strict lockdown begins in Kashmir

The six-day strict lockdown announced by the government across Kashmir to prevent the spread of coronavirus began on Thursday with strict restrictions imposed across the Valley.

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No movement of people, except medical emergencies and essential services, was being allowed across Kashmir with most of the roads barricaded by the police in Srinagar city. Shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut and public transport was off the roads across the valley, reports said.

However, agriculture, horticulture and construction activities have been allowed in accordance with disaster management guidelines while the movement of goods carriers, LPG and oil tankers also continued unhindered.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in Kashmir in July as the deadly virus has claimed 180 lives in the Union Territory in the last three weeks.

Interestingly, since Unlock 2, Covid positive cases have shown a huge spurt. While the first case was reported in Kashmir on March 9, the first 1000 patients took 67 days to accumulate till May 15. In the next 16 days till May 31, the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 2446. In June, 5051 positive cases were reported while till 22 July, 8214 people have been affected by the virus.

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Medical experts in Kashmir believe that the actual number of Covid-19 deaths in the valley is higher than what is reported as many deaths go unreported because people deliberately don't go for testing.

Many doctors and civil society members had urged the government to re-impose the lockdown to prevent the mass spread of the virus. Leading medicos have already stated that the deadly virus was already in the community and it was time to take precautions that include wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.