Srinagar, June 20: The death toll due to covid-19 rose to 79 in Jammu and Kashmir as swap sample report of an 80-year-old woman, who passed away at a hospital here, returned positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday.
Dr Nazir Choudhary, Medical Superintendent SMHS hospital, said that the woman had underlying ailments related to chest and kidney.
CMO Kulgam Dr Fazil Kochak said the woman’s body was taken forcibly by attendants soon after her death at SMHS Hospital Srinagar earlier today. A resident of Khudwani, the elderly woman was admitted to the hospital on June 18 and her swab sample was taken on the same day. Earlier two women—a 40-year-old from Safa Kadal Srinagar and a 55-year-old from Tujan Pulwama district died SKIMS Soura and CD hospital here.
Dr Salim Tak, Medical Superintendent CD hospital, said that the woman from Safa Kadal with underlying heart ailment and diabetes died six days after she was admitted to the hospital, one of the exclusive facilities for the management of the covid-19 patients in the Valley. “She was admitted to SHMS and after testing positive, she was referred to CD hospital on June 14,” he added.
Professor Farooq Jan, Medical Superintendent SKIMS, said that a 55-year-old woman from Tujan Pulwama died four days after her admission to the tertiary care hospital. “She was referred from SMHS hospital as a case of meningioma (brain tumor) with obstructive sleep apnea (a serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts),” he said, adding, “She died at 6:45 a.m. due to cardiopulmonary arrest.”
So far, as per the official data, 79 people have succumbed to the virus in J&K—nine from Jammu and 69 from the Valley. Srinagar district with 19 deaths has the highest fatalities followed by Baramulla 13, Shopian (10), Kulgam (9), Jammu (6), five each in Anantnag, Kupwara and Budgam, Pulwama (three) while one death each has been reported from Bandipora, Doda, Udhampur and Rajouri.
