Srinagar: The current Covid-19 numbers in Jammu and Kashmir show that the manner in which the illness was managed here has led to good results. The number of positive cases is now less than 3,300, about 4 percent of the about 1,20,000 cases detected in J&K, according to government data.
At the peak, the number of positive cases had touched 10,000 in a day, throwing the administration as well as society in a tizzy. Today, despite the absence of any vaccine, the numbers show that about 1,15,000 people have defeated the disease, even though about 1,900 lost their life – 1.55 percent of the total cases, most of them from Kashmir Valley.
Also, now only ten percent of the hospital beds designated for Covid-19 patients are occupied, both in Kashmir and Jammu hospitals. There are some 3,382 beds of which 3,030 are vacant. Among the total 284 ICU beds dedicated for severe Covid patients, only 65 patients are being treated on them. Of the about 60 Covid patients in ICU, 50 require no ventilator support. The number of deaths caused by Covid-19 has also dropped, though some 180 patients lost their lives this month.
Since the beginning of Chillai Kallan, the harshest period of cold in Kashmir that begins December 20, the patient caseload has gone down.
The record high was reported in September when the number of patients had swelled to 37,000 from August’s 17,000. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir PK Pole at that time had told Kashmir Reader that it was because the administration had lifted the lockdown that was imposed since March.
“The numbers are encouraging for many reasons,” said a senior pulmonologist, who had predicted that the numbers may swell during winter. “One is that the numbers are low despite people starting to go out on daily basis, and two, patients who have been infected are recovering in large numbers.”
Another doctor, on the condition of anonymity, said that the reduction in numbers is also for the reason that patients are now being treated at their homes and there is also increase in antibodies among people, a fact found by the GMC in a survey recently.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz