Srinagar: Twelve more persons including a resident doctor have tested positive for novel Coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday taking the total number of cases to 380 in the region.

According to officials, 11 among the new Coronavirus patients are from Kashmir while a remaining patient belongs to Jammu division.

They said that ten persons from Shopian, one from Kathua and a resident doctor from Baramulla tested positive on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old doctor of Kanispora in north Kashmir’s Baramulla, tested positive for the novel coronavirus at SKIMS Soura today. He works at Government Medical College Baramulla and became first Covid-19 case among the doctors in the valley.

Dr Syed Masood, Medical Superintendent of the associated hospital of GMC Baramulla told Kashmir Reader that the resident doctor has probably contracted the infection from a female patient of Sopore after she visited the hospital for a random check-up and later detected positive for Covid-19 at SKIMS Soura.

“We have already admitted the doctor to an isolation ward and quarantined his family members and possible contacts. There samples have been sent for testing,” he said adding that the doctor was asymptomatic and having no complications.

So far, seven doctors six of them from Jammu and a nurse have tested positive for the new virus.

Earlier, the government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said that 12 new cases have been reported in J&K including 11 from Kashmir and one from Jammu division. He announced it in a tweet on Tuesday evening and added that the region reported 10 fresh recoveries.

“12 new cases-11 from Kashmir 1 from Jammu Division (Kathua). 10 recoveries too. Total cases now 380. Jammu Division-56 Kashmir Division-324,” Kansal tweeted.

The region has reported five deaths so far, four from Kashmir and one from Jammu while 81 persons have recovered.

Medical Superintendent SKIMS, Dr Farooq A Jan told Kashmir Reader that only 11 new patients have tested positive for novel Coronavirus in the virology lab of the premier institute out of 244 samples analysed today.

“Ten of the new cases belong to the twin villages of Shopian district—Herpora and Beminipora. There samples had come from District Hospital Shopian while the remaining one samples was received from GMC Baramulla,” he said.

According to him, all the new Covid-19 patients detected today have contact history of already Covid-19 positive patients.

Nodal Officer for Covid-19 at GMC Srinagar, Dr Saleem Khan said over 230 samples have been analysed at CD Hospital today while 46 samples are under process. “One of the samples was found having high viral load but we are yet to confirm whether the patient is positive or not as his second test reports is yet to come,” he said.

Manzoor ul-Hassan