Srinagar: An elderly man, a resident of Tangmarg, whose samples had tested positive of Covid-19 just a few hours before, died at the isolation ward of a Srinagar hospital early Sunday morning.
His was the second death due to Covid-19 in Kashmir, the first taking place on Thursday, while the infection was detected in five more persons on Sunday, jumping the overall cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 38.
According to sources, the person who died in the Chest Diseases hospital today had no travel history but he had met a couple who had come from Saudi Arabia and had later tested positive of Covid-19. The couple is currently admitted at Government Medical College (GMC) Baramulla.
The deceased was an elderly man who lived in Tangmarg area in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. According to officials, the man was referred to Chest Diseases Hospital on Saturday from SMHS hospital, after doctors there suspected him of being a Covid-19 case.
“He was admitted to SMHS Hospital on March 25 for pneumonia but doctors there found him developing some symptoms related to coronavirus, so they kept him in isolation and took his samples for testing which came positive on Saturday,” said Dr Salim Khan, Nodal Officer for Coronavirus at Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar.
The doctors tried their best to save him but underlying ailments deteriorated his condition and he breathed his last at around 4 AM on Sunday, Dr Khan said.
Dr Khan said the patient apparently had no travel history and the administration was yet to find any incident where he came in contact with a Covid-19 patient.
“We are enquiring about it and will inform the administration accordingly,” he said.
A health official said the body of the deceased was sent to his native town in a special sealed coffin as per the guidelines of WHO and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
“An ambulance sent by CMO Baramulla shifted the body and later he was buried in a low-key manner,” the health official said.
The man was buried in his native village Sulanda Tangmarg in the afternoon. Local sources said that only five people, all wearing protective gear, attended the funeral prayers.
They said the body of the deceased was brought to the village under tight security and people were asked to keep away from the graveyard where he was later buried. Only five close relatives, including an Imam, was allowed to attend the funeral prayers.
Locals said that no one was allowed to touch the body of the deceased.
They added that since Sunday morning, the authorities imposed a curfew-like situation in Tangmarg area to stop public movement.
With inputs from Mushtaq Ahmad in Baramulla

Manzoor ul-Hassan