Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir reported five deaths due to Covid-19 on Thursday, including two from the same hospital, taking the total death toll due to novel coronavirus to 72, officials said.
They said three of the deceased belong to Kashmir valley while two others are from Jammu division.
The dead included an 80-year-old man from Nawa Bazar area of downtown Srinagar, a 65-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman from Shopian, and two elderlies from Jammu district.
A senior health officials said all the patients had several underlying ailments like hypertension, diabetes, bilateral pneumonia and respiratory issues, besides testing positive for Covid-19.
He said the 65-year-old coronavirus positive man from Talabtillo area of Jammu, who died at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu on Wednesday night, had returned from New Delhi along with three family members.
“His family has been put in paid administrative quarantine at a hotel and they will be tested for the virus too,” the official said.
Another deceased from Jammu division belonged to Kote Garhi hamlet of Akhnoor Tehsil. He, too, died at the GMC Jammu.
He had tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the isolation ward of the hospital, officials added.
Earlier, three deaths were reported in Kashmir including two at SMHS Hospital and one at CD Hospital.
Medical Superintendent SMHS hospital, Dr Nazir Choudhary told Kashmir Reader that the 80-year-old man from Nawa Bazar area was admitted on June 16 and died the next day due to complications following Covid-19 infection.
“We received the patient in an unstable condition having many co-morbidities like hypertension, diabetes, intracranial haemorrhage and bilateral pneumonia,” he said.
Regarding the Shopian patient, Dr Choudhary said that the 65-year-old was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday with “acute breathlessness” and breathed his last within hours.
The third Covid-19 death reported from Kashmir was of a 60-year-old woman who breathed her last at CD Hospital.
Medical Superintendent Dr Saleem Tak said the female patient from Nidoora, Shopian, died at the hospital on Thursday evening following complications due to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, 149 cases were recorded in Jammu and Kashmir taking total tally to 5555.
Two major hospitals of Kashmir valley recorded 64 new coronavirus cases on Thursday including eight policemen.
“We tested 1,992 swab samples since Wednesday at SKIMS virology lab of which 40 were detected positive,” said Dr Farooq A Jan, the Medical Superintendent.
“The new cases include nine from Shopian, eight from Pulwama, seven from Srinagar, four from Anantnag, four from Baramulla, three from Bandipora, two from Kulgam, and one each from Ganderbal, Budgam and Kupwara,” he said.
SKIMS Bemina confirmed 24 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours including four minors.

Manzoor ul-Hassan