Srinagar: Twenty-seven more persons including 25 from Kashmir tested positive for novel Coronavirus on Saturday taking the total number of cases to 666.
Among the new Covid-19 patients, 19 were detected positive at the VRDL lab of Chest Disease Hospital, six tested positive at the virology lab of SKIMS Soura while two persons who are the resident of Samba district were reported at GMC Jammu hospital, officials said.
The new Covid-19 patients include a nursing orderly working at Lal Ded Hospital who had tested positive for novel Coronavirus late Friday evening at CD Hospital.
Soon after his swab samples came positive, the health department sent 10 persons including his roommates, colleagues and contacts to quarantine.
The employee is a resident of Jammu and working in the LD Hospital for the last five years.
He has been putting up at a private guest house in Solina area of Srinagar along with other employees of Government Medical College, Srinagar.
Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, Dr Shabir Seddique claimed that the employee was off duty for the last three weeks.
“He was off from duties due to his illness,” he said.
“He visited the hospital recently for few minutes that is why we have asked some of our employees who met him to go to home quarantine as a precautionary measure,” Dr Seddique said.
He said his first Covid-19 test was done on April 16 which came negative but still the authorities had asked him to stay at home.
Jammu and Kashmir has reported eight deaths so far, seven from Kashmir and one from Jammu. The deceased include an expecting mother from Anantnag who tested positive for Covid-19 after her death.
Nodal Officer for Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, Dr M Saleem Khan said 19 new Covid-19 cases were detected at Chest Diseases Hospital lab out of 470 tests done since Friday evening.
“Five of them belong to the same family of Batpora Rainawari while eight are the residents of Jogi Lanker in Rainawari,” he said.
“Other who tested positive at CD Hospital including a resident of Narwara who has a travel history to Delhi, an employee of LD Hospital who was on sick leave and four persons from Anantnag district,” Dr Khan said.
Medical Superintendent SKIMS, Dr Farooq A Jan told Kashmir Reader that six new patients have been detected positive for novel Coronavirus in the virology lab of the premier institute out of 613 samples analysed today.
“Three of the new Covid-19 patients detected positive today belong to Hirpora Shopian while three others from the Tangmarg and Kanlbagh villages of Baramulla district,” he said.

Manzoor ul-Hassan