SHOPIAN: Medical experts are saying that community spread is responsible for the sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases in Shopian district, where 111 new cases were detected in a single day on Friday.
Among 111 cases, reports of 64 arrived early Saturday morning due to some delay. Also on Saturday, a 70-year-old man from Nowpora Shopian became the 37th victim of Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir and the fifth from Shopian district.
The 111 fresh cases in Shopian was the highest number of cases detected in one day in a single district in Jammu and Kashmir since the Covid-19 outbreak began.
Shopian has about three lakh population and according to official figures, the total number of positive cases is at 345, of whom 133 have recovered. According to the status of tests done and population, about two thousand tests per lakh of population are being conducted in Shopian.
Doctors in Shopian blame violation of the lockdown and ignoring of health advisories by the people as reason for the spread of coronavirus in the district. “Even after such a hike in cases, I saw shops open and groups of people chatting in front of the shops as if it is some holiday,” said an angry Dr Ramesh, Chief Medical Officer of the district. He added that recent travellers also are responsible for the rise in number of cases.
Another doctor said that in Shopian, there are clear indications of community spread of Covid-19 as cases are being reported from many localities. “Still, we can save ourselves from the virus if people follow advisory and healthcare guidelines,” he said.
Since Friday, there has been panic as well as rumours regarding the virus. Some say that the government is putting out wrong figures to scare the public. A senior official from the district said that such rumours should not be heeded to and rather, attention paid to the fact that around the world there are tens of lakhs of Covid19 cases and lakhs of deaths.
“People must understand that if we follow the guidelines, we will get rid of the virus early. But if everyone roams freely everywhere, the cases will rise exponentially,” the official said.

Raashid Hassan