Doda district has no active covid-19 case
Three deaths, 76 fresh cases reported in JK on Saturday
Bhaderwah: Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda has become the first coronavirus-free district in the Union Territory after the last three active cases turned negative and subsequently discharged from hospital, officials said on Saturday.
The hilly district had not registered any new COVID-19 cases over the past fortnight, bringing a ray of hope among the residents especially those linked with tourism for revival of normal activities.
Doda has recorded a total of 3,428 positive cases, of whom 64 died of the infection. Jammu and Kashmir had recorded a total of 1,933 COVID-related deaths till Friday evening, while 1,21,617 of the total 1,24,373 cases recovered.
With the recovery of the last three positive cases on Friday evening, there is no active case left in our district, Block Medical Officer (BMO), Bhaderwah, Shakeel Ahmad Sumbria told PTI.
He said for the last couple of weeks, no positive case has been reported from the entire district and the credit for this goes entirely to the residents of the district who have been following the SOPs religiously.
This is a very good sign for us but it does not mean that we are permanently disease free. To maintain this status (COVID-free district), we have to keep following SOPs and do vaccination without fail,” he said.
The business community, especially those associated with tourism, expressed their happiness over the development and hoped that this feat can become a turning point for the early revival of tourism related activities in the district which has suffered maximum due to the pandemic.
“Tourism is still a growing industry in Bhadarwah and other parts of Doda district. Due to the pandemic, trade came to a standstill but our district becoming coronavirus free is definitely a blessing in disguise for us and hopefully, we will be able to attract tourist again to this beautiful valley, Imtiaz-Ur-Rehman, leading eco-tourism promoter of Chenab region, said.
He said Bhadarwah Development Authority should play a proactive role in the revival of tourism in the valley.
Rashid Choudhary, a local youth leader from Bhaderwah, said it is a very positive sign that Doda has become the first district in the entire UT to be free from coronavirus cases.
It became possible because of the joint efforts of the residents and the district administration which implemented all SOPs in letter and spirit,” he said, cautioning people not to get carried away by the scenario and keep taking precautionary measures to keep the virus at bay.
Besides Doda, five other districts in Jammu region have single digit positive cases. Kishtwar district has one positive case, Ramban (two), Kathua (three) and Rajouri and Reasi (five each).
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 1,24,449 on Saturday with 76 fresh cases while the death toll mounted to 1,936 as three more people succumbed to the disease, officials said.
Of the fresh cases, 58 were reported from the Kashmir division and 18 from the Jammu division, they said.
Srinagar district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 27, including 15 travellers.
Six districts Samba, Kathua, Kishtwar, Rajouri, Reasi and Ramban — did not report any fresh cases and the remaining 13 districts recorded new infections in single digits, the officials said.
There are 761 active cases in the union territory. So far, 1,21,752 people have recovered, they said.
Of the latest fatalities, two were reported from the Kashmir valley and one from the Jammu division, they said. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
