Despite the drop in positive cases over the past month, COVID19 persistently threatens lives in J&K. 336 people were on oxygen support in hospitals, in addition to 37 admitted to critical care units, official data reveals.
Today, 512 people tested positive for COVID19 in Jammu and Kashmir. A health official said that although a majority of the people who test positive are either asymptomatic or have mild to moderate symptoms, a proportion gets sick with severe symptoms of the viral illness.
With 5935 active cases, the proportion of admitted patients was 9 percent. Although the percentage, he said, would seem an insignificant one to many, in absolute numbers currently 539 patients were admitted in hospitals, mostly tertiary care hospitals. Official data showed that 336 patients, 295 of them in Kashmir division, were on oxygen support. These patients, a doctor said, were unable to maintain adequate oxygen saturation and needed high-flow oxygen. “If the oxygen level falls too low, there is threat to internal organs and even life,” he said.
In addition to these patients on oxygen support, 37 patients, 21 of them in Jammu, were in critical and intensive care units of the hospitals. 12 of these were on invasive ventilator support, Government data stated.
The number of critically ill SARS-CoV2 infected patients was a matter of concern as it led to constant fatalities attributed to the virus. Today, nine deaths of confirmed positive cases were reported in J&K – 7 in Jammu division and 2 in Kashmir division.
In Kashmir, an 80 year old male from Qamarwari Srinagar passed away at SKIMS Soura, two days after admission. A 60 year old male from Boniyar Baramulla also lost life at the same hospital, nearly a week after he was admitted. Both patients had COVID19 pneumonia and were hypertensive.
With these deaths, the fatalities in Kashmir division crossed 1000 slab and reached 1001.
In Jammu division, a physician was among the seven people who succumbed to the viral illness today. He was 37 and died at GMC Jammu. Of the fresh cases, 326 were from Kashmir division. Srinagar had 135 people testing positive, Budgam 35, Baramulla 67, Pulwama 10, Kupwara 32, Anantnag 2, Bandipora 18, Ganderbal 16, Kulgam 4 and Shopian 7.
A health official said a major proportion of the positives were among the Rapid Antigen Tests carried across the districts. He said 8313 RATs were carried out in Kashmir division between Tuesday and Wednesday of which 227 were positive. 21 of these were people arriving from outside Kashmir.