Shopian: Though Shopian has the least number of active cases of Covid, just 18, among the 10 Kashmir districts, a weekend lockdown was imposed in the district on Saturday with police and other law-enforcing agencies forcing shopkeepers and other business establishments to close down.
While Kashmir division on Saturday witnessed 2,122 Covid cases, Shopian recorded only four of those cases. Like last year during the second wave, the district is again the least affected by the third wave, with almost no cases being found over the last several days.
Before the imposition of the weekend lockdown, Friday congregations were not allowed at the Jamia Masjid Shopian on 14 January.
Since the Covid cases in Kashmir started rising this year, the number of cases in Shopian has also risen, but only in small numbers, and currently the active number of Covid patients in the district is 18, including the 4 cases reported on Saturday.
One measure of the uniqueness of Shopian is also that so far no death has been reported in the district in the year 2022. The last death reported in the district was in mid 2021.
Shopian so far has witnessed a total of 59 Covid related deaths, the lowest in any Kashmir district.
For a week now, however, health and other officials are making rounds of the town and other areas where people are being told to follow the health department-issued guidelines and SOPs.
Deputy Commissioner Shopian, Sachin Kumar Vaishya has also visited several rural areas where masks and sanitisers were distributed among people, besides providing Covid related information to the general public.
Educational institutions and tuition centres have already been closed in the district. Shopian has so far witnessed only one Omicron case, but the patient recovered days ago.

Raashid Hassan