Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 7: The COVID-19 positive cases moving towards 100 mark in Kashmir have created uncertainty in the Valley.
Everyone is praying for speedy recovery of the COVID-19 positive patients, who are admitted in different hospitals.
According to the media reports the lockdown will continue in the areas which have been declared as “Red Zones” in Kashmir even after April 14. But till now there is no clarity on whether the Government of India will lift the lockdown or it will be extended.
An analyst said the spike in number of COVID-19 patients in Kashmir is a “cause of concern.” “Right now the reports of those patients are coming who were traced during the past few days and have been lodged in different Srinagar hospitals. We have no idea about the people who are present in the community and have not been tested till now,” he said.
According to the experts COVID-19 positive patients usually remain asymptomatic till the virus enters into the lungs of the patient. Recently president of Doctors Association Kashmir and flu expert Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan in a statement claimed that “nearly 90% of the patients could be treated by giving plain Paracetamol and some antibiotic.”
But Dr Nisar cautioned that out of 10 patients, who are put on ventilators, only two survive. “It means every attempt has to be made to trace a positive case before he becomes too sick. Till now J&K administration has been tracing the contacts aggressively. The authorities to a great extent have succeeded in tracing the contacts of the COVID-19 positive patients and identifying the areas where this infection has spread. More than 45 areas in Kashmir have been declared as Red Zones,” an observer told Precious Kashmir.
He said, “If the lockdown is lifted on April 14 movement of people will start again. That’s the time when the authorities will be put to test again. Till date experts are claiming that only way to contain this virus is to stop moving. If the people start moving again it would mean virus will start moving again. It remains to be seen whether the Government of India will lift the lockdown or will ask the States to take a call.”
He said, “We should realize that number of positive cases in Kashmir have increased at a rapid pace during the past few days. In Jammu things have been bit better but there seems to be no respite in Kashmir. Lifting lockdown in the Valley will be a tough call.”
