Anantnag: Even as more than twelve-thousand people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past one month in Kashmir division, the number of patients with an active infection has also gone down drastically, from around 22 percent of the total cases on September 20 to only 9.4 percent on the corresponding date this month.
The total number of infections thus far in Kashmir division as reported by the administration was at 53,302 as on October 20. The number of active cases on the same date was 5,046.
“This is 9.4 percent of the total number of cases. If you compare the data of September 20, wherein the total number of cases stood at 41,087 and active cases at 9,218, there is a huge difference,” an official privy to the data told Kashmir Reader.
“And this is despite the fact that 12,215 new cases were witnessed in the same time period in ten districts of Kashmir division,” the official said. Srinagar continues to be at the epicenter of these fresh cases with over 4,800 cases out of the more than 12k reported.
The good thing, however, is that Srinagar is only a little ahead of the average proportion of active cases, at 9.5 percent.
“Other districts are doing even better, like Kulgam and Shopian in south Kashmir, which have an active percentage of only 3.8 and 4.1, in that order,” the official said.
Other districts, including Anantnag, Budgam, Pulwama, Kupwara, Bandipora and Ganderbal, range between 6 percent and 8.5 percent in active number of cases, which the official says is pretty good “given that they are showing signs of decline in active cases and are already below the average in the region.”
The cause of concern, however, is Baramulla district in north Kashmir (with a population of around 10 lakh) where the active cases are way higher than any other district at 24 percent.
“A total of 1,441 new cases have been reported in Baramulla district since September 20. The district at present has 5,285 total infections and 1,304 active cases. The number of active cases in Kashmir will further plunge if this district starts to show some progress,” the official said.
Since September 20, 165 people have died in the ten districts of Kashmir division, with as many as 71 of them in Srinagar district alone.

  Covid-19, Kashmir

Suhail A Shah