Covid-19 turns a remote village in Shopian a ‘hotspot’
Shopian: A remote village in Shopian region, Hirpora is attracting attention these days. The village known for its potato crop has emerged as one of the hotspots for COVID-19 as eight more persons from the village tested positive for the deadly coronavirus on Tuesday.
With eight new cases, Hirpora village which has a population of around 2500 people has now 20 positive cases.
The first case from this village was reported on March 08 when a man who had a travel history to Maharashtra tested positive. After the first case three more persons tested positive during the following days.
An official said that initially 14 samples were taken from the village populace, among them four tested positive and on April 17, 8 more persons tested positive for the virus.
However, on Tuesday 10 more positive cases were reported from the area taking the toll of total positive cases in Shopian to 30, including two recoveries.
The new eight positive cases include five women and three men, officials said, adding that the age of the women patients ranges from 20 to 60 years while the men’s age ranges from 18 to 50 years.
The official added that so far 200 samples have been collected from people hailing from this village while as around 100 people have been kept under home quarantine.
“Mass screening process has already been started in the village and we are making every possible effort to stop community transmission in the region,” he added.
“We are ensuring that a well managed screening process is carried out and anyone who shows some symptoms is being tested for the virus. We have also sealed the village completely and are ensuring that no one enters the village or comes out of it,” the official, said.
Jahangeer Ganaie
