Sixty three COVID cases were recorded on March 1 in J&K. 52 days down the line, J&K is reporting daily number of covid cases in four digits. The health experts attribute this meteoric rise in cases to “high virulent virus which is spreading at fast pace” this time around.
From 63 to 2000 daily cases taking just 50 days, experts fear the daily cases may rise to 3000 to 4000 per day in the coming days.
The COVID cases have witnessed a 300 percent increase in just a couple of weeks, with it the active positive cases have reached to 15000 which has put a burden on hospitals.
“The way the virus is behaving this time around, there is every possibility that daily cases may go up further in the coming days. In just a couple of weeks we have witnessed the cases increasing from 100 to 2000, last year the doubling rate of cases was much slower than this time,” Critical Care Expert and Medical Superintendent of Khyber Medical Institute, Dr. Showkat Shah said.
“New researches have suggested that people should wear double masks as it is considered to be a potent tool to prevent the spread of virus to a large extent, and all the COVID security protocols need to be followed in letter and spirit to keep the viral infection at bay.”
The doctor said that the vaccination is the only medicine available against COVID and people should not shy away from it.
He said that the people should come forward and get themselves vaccinated as it would reduce the severity of the infection. “We should get vaccinated as the vaccine gives us the protection against the virus. The vaccine does not guarantee that one will not get infected, but it does guarantee that you have enough protection to fight the invader,”
Dr. Tariq Tramboo, critical care specialist, said that this time around the virus is “virulent” and if the vaccination is not done it will infect almost a large proportion of the population. “Therefore everybody must get vaccinated. It is our responsibility to get vaccinated to stop the spread of this virus, otherwise it will keep infecting people at a rapid pace.”
“People should avoid assembling in closed spaces, like congregations, marriage functions, etc. Our medical system may collapse if the cases keep rising at a pace they are going up this time around,” he said adding that “after vaccination getting chances of infection is 0.03 percent.”
Dr. Tramboo said that the health authorities must ensure that the vaccination centers are well ventilated.