With COVID19 continuing to kill people in J&K, doctors have stressed upon the need to protect high-risk people from getting infected in order to reduce mortality.
On Monday, nine persons were reported to have died after having tested positive while 460 tested positive.
As per the official data, a majority of the people who fall to COVID19 are those categorized as high risk of developing complications due to the viral illness.
A health official said, as of Sunday, of the 1015 deaths reported in Kashmir division, 680 had reported co-morbid conditions – hypertension, diabetes, cancer or some other diseases that weaken the body’s immune response and makes it more vulnerable to infections.
As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, elderly people are also categorized as high risk, irrespective of their health status. A health official said 728 of the 1015 deaths had been among people aged 60 years and above.
Head of the Department of Preventive and Community Medicine at GMC Srinagar, Prof S Saleem Khan said that the elderly people need to be protected from getting infected by others in the family who may not have the symptoms of the viral illness but may be carrying the virus.
“People who are meeting other people have more chance of being infected than those mostly confined to their homes,” he said.
Six of the eight deaths reported in Kashmir division on Monday were from Srinagar district.
These included a 95-year-old woman from Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar admitted at SMHS Hospital, a 70-year-old man from BotaKadal, Srinagar also admitted at SMHS Hospital.
An 85-year-old woman from Lal Bazaar, Srinagar and a 70-year-old man from Syedpora, Srinagar who were admitted at SKIMS, Soura also succumbed to the illness today.
A 55-year-old man from Natipora and a 61-year-old man from GogjiBagh, Srinagar admitted at SKIMS Medical College Hospital died late Sunday night, a health official said.
A 65-year-old man of KhawajaBagh, Baramulla admitted at Indoor Stadium Baramulla and a 70-year-old woman from Kralpora, Kupwara were the other two reported casualties in the day.
One person lost life in Jammu division, the official bulletin on COVID19 said.
Of the 460 cases reported during the past 24 hours, 307 were from Kashmir division and 153 from Jammu division. Of the 99,352 reported cases till date, the recoveries reached 92,245 – 92.9 percent.