After 41 people tested positive for the COVID19 in Danger Mohalla (GundJahangeer) of Bandipora district, authorities on Tuesday decided to quarantine the entire village with a population of 400.
This is the first village in Jammu and Kashmir, where theentire population has been put under quarantine.
“After 36 of 41 positive cases in the GundJahangeer areaturned out to have come from Danger Mohalla, the entire village which has apopulation of 400 has been put under quarantine. Half of the village populationis under administrative quarantine while the other half has been restrainedinto home quarantine”, a top official said.
The most baffling part of the infection spread in thisvillage is that the first positive patient, who later passed away in a Srinagarhospital, had no travel history.
The son of the deceased said his father had been bedriddenfor four months and he had not travelled outside the valley.
“He was a fruit merchant who had not gone out nor metany contact from outside the valley during the days of his sickness which wasdue to multiple ailments like kidney dysfunction and cardio-vascular problems.We have found that people from the village used to call on him during hissickness,” said the official.
“Whether he got the virus from his visitors or he gaveit to them is still a mystery,” the officer said.
Twelve of the 36 infected people in the village are membersof the deceased’s extended family or his friends and neighbours.
Authorities are still working hard on contact tracing ofpeople from this village who in all livelihood would have moved into adjoiningareas before the infection became full blown in this village.Consequent upon the increase in the number ofpositive cases in this village, Bandipora has now 91 COVID19 cases which is thehighest in J&K followed by Srinagar district at 79 cases.