India’s Tally Crosses 32 Lakh-Mark With Over 67,000 Cases in 24 Hrs; Ex-Assam CM Tarun Gogoi Tests Positive for Covid-19

A central team of Dr VK Paul and NCDC director will visit Kashmir tomorrow because of the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases. A visit to Srinagar, Baramulla and Pulwama is scheduled as the pandemic shows no signs of abating. With 701 new cases, the Covid-19 tally in Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 33,776, while 14 more fatalities were reported, officials said yesterday. Officials said 11 deaths were reported from Kashmir and three persons died in Jammu region in the past 24 hours till 5pm yesterday. The death toll in the union territory has now reached 638. They said 701 fresh cases of Covid-19 were reported from the union territory, taking the total number of infected persons to 33,776. There are 7,544 active cases of the coronavirus, while 25,594 patients have recovered so far, they said. Among the new cases, 139 were from the Jammu region, while 562 were from Kashmir, they said.

Srinagar district reported the highest number of 208 new cases, followed by 76 in Jammu district, the officials said. This was for the fourth time in past five days that the number of fresh COVID cases in Srinagar district was more than 200. In the Jammu division, three more patients including a woman died of coronavirus, taking the death toll due to the infection to 50, officials said. The Poonch Deputy Commissioners office was closed for visitors after three employees tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, and the public has been asked to contact the officials over the phone in case of any urgent issue. The three employees, including an operator of the deputy commissioner, were among the 139 fresh cases detected across 10 districts of the Jammu region, the officials said. They said two residents, aged 53 and 63, died at Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital over the past 24 hours, while a 43-year-old woman died at GMC Kathua on Tuesday. The three were suffering from various ailments and tested positive last week, the officials said. Jammu division has so far recorded a total of 7,413 cases, of whom 5,776 have already been cured and discharged from the hospitals, the officials said adding there are only 1,587 active cases in the division.

As coronavirus cases rise in the world, Turkey’s new infections jumped on Tuesday to their highest level since mid-June at 1,502, according to Health Ministry data, prompting the government to impose measures to combat the spread of the pandemic. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 24 more people died from COVID-19, bringing the country’s death toll to 6,163. Daily cases were last this high on June 15 – two weeks after Turkey lifted a partial lockdown – when the country logged 1,592 cases. Responding to the surge, President Tayyip Erdogan announced that all state institutions may now implement “flexible working methods”, such as working out of the office or in shifts, according to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette overnight. Earlier, the Interior Ministry said it was banning certain events and celebrations, such as engagements and henna nights, in 14 provinces, including the capital, Ankara, in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus. In a nationwide notice, it said weddings in the 14 provinces would be allowed to last a maximum of one hour, and any wedding dances, celebrations or parties were banned. (Agencies)