Active positive cases drop to single-digit

Anantnag: Shopian district in south Kashmir is on the verge of becoming the first Covid free district in Kashmir as only 7 new Covid cases were reported in the week ending July 17 in the district with an average of one case per day.

With an addition of two new cases Sunday, the tally is 9 cases in eight days, way lower than other districts of the Kashmir division. The active positive cases have also declined to a single digit, in the district.

“Shopian was the first district to become Covid free in the first wave and if things continue like they are right now, we are all set to witness a Covid free district yet again,” a senior official in the administration privy to data on Covid-19 told Kashmir Reader.

The data shows, between July 10 and 17 only 7 new cases were reported in the district with six of the cases being recorded on July 10, 11, and 12. “There were no new cases on July 13, 14, 15, and 17 and only one case on July 16,” the official said, adding that the decline in the number of active positive cases was very encouraging as well.

Kashmir division, as of July 18, has 1123 active positive cases and only 8 of them are in Shopian district. The recovery rate in Shopian is in sync with the overall recovery rate at 98 percent, however.

“Moreover, there have been no deaths in the district in this time frame, due to the infection,” the official said, “The figures look all the more encouraging when compared to other districts in South Kashmir, where the numbers have been on the higher side,”

The worst affected district in south Kashmir during this week has been Pulwama, with exactly 100 cases of the infection reported, followed by Anantnag with 58 new cases and Kulgam district with 42.

The good news, however, is that only one Covid related death has been reported from the three other districts of South Kashmir, in the Anantnag district. There have been no deaths in this time frame in either Pulwama or in the Kulgam districts.

“In fact, there have been only two deaths in Kashmir division since July 10, one in Anantnag district and another in Baramulla district of north Kashmir,” the official said, “Surprisingly Srinagar district has fared well this time around despite being the epicentre through and through.”

Srinagar district has reported 334 new cases of Covid-19 since July 10, which is 35 percent of the total caseload Kashmir valley has witnessed during this time.

Besides, the central Kashmir district has 417 active positive cases of Covid right now. “That too is more than 37 percent of the overall active positive cases in Kashmir valley,” the official said.

He emphasized that despite the encouraging reports from Shopian district and lower numbers overall, the second wave was not completely done and dusted. “And with the third wave already casting shadows the world over, we need to be all the more careful,” the official said.

Suhail A Shah