COVID-19: Chain in Kashmir refuses to break, new cases on rise   

Srinagar, May 8: The COVID-19 cases increasing at a rapid pace in Kashmir is not a good sign. It means that lot of damage has already been done and life won’t return to normal so soon.
An analyst while talking to Precious Kashmir said, “Soon after the first COVID-19 case was detected in Kashmir, focus of the entire administration shifted towards identifying the people with a travel history. Travelers, who had arrived in Kashmir from different places, were put in quarantine and the ones who tested positive were isolated and their contacts were traced.”
He said, “Many of us were of the opinion that these measures will keep the pandemic at bay. The J&K administration worked relentlessly to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading within the community. The administration playing a pro-active role saved many lives. Critics, who were propagating that there is no infrastructure to cater to the sick and hospital won’t be able to withstand the rush of patients have turned mute, as the helmsmen have not allowed situation to take an ugly turn.”
Till date nearly 750 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 in Kashmir but around 300 have also recovered. “Now, the main worry for the administration is that the new cases which are coming to fore have no travel history and they are not even the contacts of old cases. The apprehension of the doctors that the COVID-19 has already spread within the community seems to be coming true,” said an observer.
He said, “In absence of a vaccine or any specific medicine the job of the doctors has become very difficult. So far, the death rate in Kashmir has been low but if the cases keep on increasing situation can turn critical. Experts are of the opinion that random testing is the only way which can help in at least detecting the asymptomatic positive cases.”
It’s in place to mention here that the J&K Government on Thursday said that the COVID-19 testing capacity has increased to 3000 cases in a day. “The authorities need to focus on conducting random tests in containment zones. This will determine whether the community spread has taken place and how much damage it has caused. The main idea is to break the chain. It appears that the chain is very much intact. It seems to be one of the big reasons for COVID-19 giving us sleepless nights,” said another observer.
He said, “Still lot of people are not understanding the importance of staying at home. The only way to save ourselves is to keep ourselves confined within our homes and maintain social distancing.”

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