COVID-19 has claimed 289 lives in Jammu and Kashmir in April. The month also witnessed 45,123 positive cases.
Out of the 45,123 positive cases, 28,540 are in Kashmir and 16,583 in Jammu division. Kashmir accounted for 136 deaths and Jammu 153.
The steep climb in the death rate is the result of the deadly second wave that is sweeping most parts of India. In January, Jammu and Kashmir had reported 3,579 positive cases and 53 deaths. February witnessed 21 deaths while 37 people died of COVID-9 in March, and 4,456 contracted the infection.
As per the official data available, in the first 115 days of the pandemic last year (from March 08 to June 30, 2020), 7,497 positive cases and 10 deaths were recorded in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, October proved the deadliest month with 478 COVID-19 deaths.
The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in March 2020 in the Union territory after two suspected cases with high viral load were detected and isolated in Government Medical College, Jammu. Both the cases had a travel history.
The resurgence of the infection has led to the government imposing a lockdown in several districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
The J&K administration imposed a four-day lockdown in Kashmir on April 29 to stem the tide of COVID-19 related deaths and infections. The administration has also imposed ‘corona curfew’ in 11 districts in the UT.
There is also a ban on assembly of more than five people in Kashmir under Section 144 of CrPC.
Many people in Kashmir have complained about the shortage of anti-COVID-19 vaccines in the UT.
The government has refuted reports about the shortage of vaccines in Kashmir. The spike in the positivity rate and deaths has suddenly led to more people queuing up at the health centers to get themselves vaccinated.
The government has geared up for a possible emergency in UT and made arrangements to deal with the crisis. Four 1,300-bed temporary hospitals and an oxygen bank have also been readied to deal with an emergency.
The resurgence of COVID-19 has not only disrupted life but also brought a grinding halt to a promising tourist season in Kashmir. Since December, tourists were flocking Kashmir in droves, sparking hope of a bumper 2021.
Tour operators said the winter season was highly lucrative and all the hotels in Gulmarg and Pahalgam were sold out. Most of the tourists, according to hoteliers and houseboat owners, belonged to Maharashtra and Gujarat.
