979 infected, 25 dead: Fresh COVID-19 casualties in Kashmir and Gujarat

This marks the second death in Jammu and Kashmir

Volunteers donate blood at at a camp organised at Lalbagcha Raja Society premises to support coronavirus patients, in Mumbai | PTI Volunteers donate blood at at a camp organised at Lalbagcha Raja Society premises to support coronavirus patients, in Mumbai | PTI

On the back of fresh deaths in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, the coronavirus infection death toll in India rose to 25, the health ministry reported; 979 have currently been infected. In its updated data at 10am, the ministry stated that the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country was 867, while 86 people were either cured or discharged and one had migrated. The total number of 979 cases in the country included 48 foreigners, the data stated

The casualty in Kashmir valley was a 62-year-old resident of Tangmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. He had tested postive for coronavirus and was admitted to Chest Disease Hospital at Dalgate in Srinagar yesterday. "Sad start to the day. Unfortunate demise of a coronavirus patient in Srinagar this morning,’’ tweeted principal secretary Rohit Kansal. Reports said the man was suffering from liver ailment. The police have made arrangement to shift the body to Tangmarg for burial. 

This is the second coronavirus related death in Jammu and Kashmir. To date, 33 people in Jammu and Kashmir have tested positive for coronavirus, 24 of them in Kashmir. In an online media briefing yesterday, Kansal said 11 coronavirus positive cases in Kashmir division could be traced to a single religious congregation. “While we have been aggressively tracing out contacts, we have also been reviewing our capacities and facilities,’’ he said. He said the government has earmarked 11 hospitals, 8 in Kashmir and 3 in Jammu division,  as exclusive COVID-19 hospitals. 2400 beds, 1300 in Kashmir and 1100 in Jammu, has been set apart for the purpose.

In Gujarat, principal secretary health Jayanti Ravi said that a 45-year-old man undergoing treatment in Ahmedabad succumbed to coronavirus. He suffered from co-morbid conditions like diabetes. This is the third death in Ahmedabad. Earlier, one death each was reported from Surat and Bhavnagar. The number of COVID-19 positive cases stand at 58.

-Inputs from Tariq Bhat, Nandini Oza

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