Downward trend in COVID-19 cases in last few days, hope for further dip: J&K L-G
Jammu, Apr 17 () Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Friday said almost all Tablighi Jamaat members from the Union territory, who had attended a congregation at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, have been traced while 500 of them have undergone testing so far.
Following a sudden spike in the average number of cases with Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts, signs of a downward trend are showing as average positive cases have decreased to nearly half during the past few days, the L-G said.
"Over the last one week, there was a sudden increase in the number of COVID patients (because of Tablighi Jamaat)," Murmu told in an interview at Raj Bhawan here in the evening.
He said that the administration had got a list of 2,007 people who had attended the congregation in Delhi. "Out of them, 1,996 have been traced. Out of them, 500 such people were subjected to testing," Murmu added.
The L-G pointed out that the increase in the positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir was linked to Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts. "It was because of Tablighi (Jamaat) and their contacts that there was a sudden increase in the number of positive cases during the past 8 to 9 days. The average number had increased suddenly because of them," the former IAS officer said.
Expressing optimism over positive cases dropping in the past few days, he said that the government has high hopes that there would be a further continuous dip.
"During the past two days, it has started decreasing as average cases are half as compared to previous days. During the last week, average cases had shot up to 30 to 32 cases but during the past few days it is 14 to 15 cases. It is under control and showing signs of a downward trend," he added.
Most of the 271 positive patients in the UT are likely to recover as authorities are watching their response, the L-G said. "Out of 20 districts, 13 are only involved. However, the most affected districts are hardly four to five districts. We have 77 red zones. None of the patients are on ventilator," he added.
Murmu said that the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, who had gone to attend the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi, had come forward voluntarily after initial hiccups.
"All those who have gone to the (Nizamuddin) Markaz had come out voluntarily. No one resisted. In the beginning, they had some problems. They did not know what to do. Nearly 78 per cent cases were asymptomatic. Because of this behaviour of being asymptomatic, it was a bit late," he explained.
He said that the administration has kept a close watch on the hotspots in the UT.
A 75-year-old man died of COVID-19 in J&K on Friday raising the death toll due to the virus to five in the Union territory. The UT has reported 314 positive cases till now.
Nearly 22,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts have been quarantined across the country so far, a home ministry official had earlier said. AB HDA