Srinagar: Kashmir recorded another major jump in Covid-19 cases on Thursday after 24 more persons were tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 184, including four deaths.

According to officials, Jammu reported its first Covid-19 related death after an elderly woman from Udhampur, who had tested positive for the new virus, died Wednesday evening at Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu.

Officials said the fresh cases include 11 family members of the Bandipora man who had died at SMHS Hospital due to coronavirus on Monday. He was a resident of Gund Jahangir village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

“Of 24 new cases, 21 tested positive for novel coronavirus at SKIMS Soura and three at Chest Diseases hospital,” said a senior doctor.

Earlier in the day, government spokesperson Rohit Kansal tweeted about the new cases in the valley and claimed that they were the contacts of already positive patients who could be traced due to aggressive testing.

“24 more positive cases in Kashmir. Total 184. 32 in Jammu, 152 in Kashmir. All are contacts. A result of aggressive testing,” Kansal tweeted.

According to SKIMS officials, majority of the positive cases are from north Kashmir, with eight from Baramulla’s Tangmarg area and 12 from Gund Jahangir area of Bandipora district.

“We have tested 127 samples in our virology lab today and 21 of them were detected positive for novel coronavirus. Most of them are from north Kashmir districts,” said Dr GH Yatoo, the nodal officer for Covid-19 at SKIMS Soura.

An official from GMC Baramulla told Kashmir Reader that 11 of the new cases were relatives of the deceased person from Gund Jahangir village who died at SMHS Hospital on Monday.

The three persons who tested positive for the virus at CD hospital belong one each to Srinagar, Anantnag, and Kulgam.

Dr M Salim Khan, Nodal Officer for Coronavirus at GMC Srinagar and associated hospitals, said that three of the fresh cases tested positive in VRDL lab of the college at CD Hospital.

“Of 94 samples tested today at the lab, three were found positive and 91 negative,” he said.

“Another 98 samples are under process for testing while as 150 fresh samples were collected for testing today,” Dr Khan said.

One of the samples was received from SMHS Hospital while two others had come from GMC Anantnag on Wednesday, he added.

Manzoor ul-Hassan