Poor testing is increasing the numbers of coronavirus positive cases in J&K’s quarantines centres, as 24 more locals tested positive on Thursday and spurred the total number to 184.
“All 24 positive cases were detected in Kashmir. All have a contact history with positive patients. The growing number of cases is a result of aggressive testing,” said the J&K government’s Spokesperson Rohit Kansal.
Eleven positive cases are from the family of a Bandipora man who died, and eight cases are from a Tangmarg village that had reported one case.
Of 43,798 people under surveillance — including 8,157 persons in home quarantine, 478 in hospital quarantine, 174 in hospital isolation and 25,975 under home surveillance — only 2,649 samples have been collected till April 9.
About 6% tested
On average, 115 cases are tested in J&K in 24 hours, adding up to only about 6% of the total population under surveillance.
“We touched 200 tests in 24 hours due to the recent augmentation. We are hopeful to reach 500 tests in 24 hours in the coming days,” a senior official said on the condition of anonymity.
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District Magistrate, Ganderbal, Shafqat Iqbal, has demanded that the surveillance teams deployed in the ‘Red Zone’ areas of the district “should expedite the screening of all inhabitants of these areas to break the chain of the COVID-19 virus”.
Innovative collection
In the frontier district of Kupwara, Deputy Commissioner Anshul Garg on Thursday established an innovative phone booth-type sample collection centre at the Government Degree College (GDC), Tangdar.
“Around 21 samples of primary suspects were collected on Thursday and dispatched to the Sher-i- Kashmir Medical Sciences Hospital in Srinagar, for testing,” said Mr. Garg.
One local tested positive for COVID-19 in Kupwara’s Tangdhar area. His native village Bagbella has been declared a ‘Red Zone’.
