Srinagar: Authorities in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Monday said they heaved a sigh of relief after nearly 40 residents of Hajin suspected of having Covid-19 were found clear of the deadly virus, among the 54 persons from the district tested so far.
Syed Shahnawaz, Official on Special Duty (OSD) for Coronavirus in Bandipora, told Kashmir Reader that nearly 54 persons of Hajin block were tested in Srinagar hospitals but only 8 have tested positive for Covid-19.
Forty of them have been declared negative of the virus at SKIMS Soura and Chest Diseases Hospital, he said.
Thirty-two have already been discharged while the test reports of remaining people are awaited, he said.
Shahnawaz said it was a big relief for the administration and doctors because many people had panicked after a few social media posts and media reports started comparing Hajin with Wuhan of China.
“We heaved a sigh of relief today as people were in distress after some cases came positive suddenly. We managed things in a professional way,” he said.
“Let’s not compare Hajin or for that matter any place with Wuhan,” he added.
According to the health department, more than 110 persons from different Hajin villages are under quarantine in facilities set up by the government. Of them, no one has showed any coronavirus symptoms so far. “Those in home quarantine are also doing well. We hope the myths created that Hajin is a dangerous zone will be broken now,” said a senior doctor.
After Srinagar district, Hajin showed a sudden spike of Covid-19 cases after doctors revealed that a Tableegi Jamaat preacher from Sopore, who died last week, had attended a religious congregation in a local masjid there.
It put the administration in a tizzy and they started screening people, which helped in preventing community transmission, said Dr Muzaffar Zargar, who is posted at CHC Hajin.
“I was also worried about spurt of cases in Hajin because Covid-19 cases were found in a cluster. But now the situation seems to have changed as many suspected cases have been tested negative,” Dr Zargar said.

Manzoor ul-Hassan