J&K saw more COVID19 fatalities today when two elderly women admitted at CD Hospital died, taking the death toll of the viral illness here to 20.
Dr S Saleem Khan, nodal officer COVID119 at GMC Srinagar said a female patient aged 70 hailing from Parisabad in Budgam district breathed her last at CD Hospital. The patient was initially admitted at SMHS Hospital on 15 May as a case of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and pneumonia. The patient tested positive on 18 May and doctors confirmed her’s to be COVID19 pneumonia. She was subsequently admitted to ICU of CD Hospital where she died on noon of 21 May of sudden cardiac arrest, Dr Khan said.
An 80 year old female from Usmania Colony Bemina died at the same hospital Wednesday evening. The patient was admitted to SMHS Hospital on 19 May with bilateral pneumonia and hypertension. She was kept in isolation ward of the hospital, Dr Khan said, adding that her sample was taken for COVID9 testing. “She died on the evening of 20 May, before her report was ready,” he said, adding that this prompted the authorities to keep her body in mortuary. “Her sample tested positive this morning,” he said.
The two deaths take the count of COVID19 fatalities in J&K to 20. Both the patients, Dr Khan said, suffered from life threatening co-morbidities. In the past six days, eight people who had tested positive for COVID19 have lost lives in Kashmir. Although doctors said all these patients suffered from other life threatening illnesses, the deaths have steepened the mortality graph of the viral illness.
On 17 May, a 29 year old Srinagar woman died at CD Hospital, she was suffering from Ludwig’s Angina and had tested positive during her stay at SMHS Hospital. A day later, on 18 May, three people died at CD Hospital after they were shifted from SMHS Hospital following confirmation of their viral infection. They were suffering from stroke, brain hemmorage and cancer. On 20 May a female patient from Anantnag suffering from a chronic disease of pancreas died at SKIMS.
However, the viral infection also claimed a young 34 year old Srinagar man without any co-morbid condition. A pregnant woman has also died to COVID19 in Kashmir.