Srinagar: Over the years, people in Jammu and Kashmir have grown accustomed to lockdowns including one post repealing of Article 370 which saw even snapping of landlines besides mobile and internet communication which has been since eased but not fully. However, doctors have underlined that the lockdowns of the past are entirely different from the one imposed presently to contain the spread of pestilence.
“There is neither any treatment available nor any vaccine against the novel coronavirus. To safeguard against it, there is a need for prevention and people as such are required to follow administrative health guidelines issued from time to time,” says Pulmonologist, Head CD Hospital Srinagar, Dr. Naveed Shah. “Lockdown is a part of it (administrative advisories) and I want to tell common people that this is not a normal lockdown that there would be a deal (relaxation) that the people will come out of their homes. This is a lockdown we need to follow in the real sense round the clock and one shall never venture out of their houses unnecessarily.”
The worldwide number of fatalities from the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 102,000 on the weekend while more than 1.6 million cases have been registered globally since the epidemic first emerged.
“The main aim is that if one person is infected, he should not infect others. This is the only way we can control this disease.”
At numerous places especially in the interiors, people try to mix and socialize in the evening as was the case during the previous lockdowns or curfew-like restrictions. While the main roads are normally deserted, people socialize in the small groups of two and three in the interiors in the evenings.
The COVID-19 positive cases are increasing in the J&K with 23 more testing positive on Friday. 150 cases were added in the last ten days alone. From the time the first COVID-19 case was announced in J&K on March 09, it took about three weeks for the cases to reach 50-mark. It took the next five days for the cases to double—to cross 100—and next as many days to cross 200-mark.
From 52 reported cases by the end of last month, the J&K reached a cumulative tally of 106 cases on April 5. On April 10, the officially confirmed tally stands at 207. Four people have died due to the deadly infection in the J&K while six others—three each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions have recovered and discharged.
