J&K: 71% dip in deaths and 67% decline in Covid cases in January

Jammu: The Covid-19 data of Jammu and Kashmir since March 2020 reveals that the scourge of the disease in the union territory had waned the most in January in the past eight months

A senior health official said that the disease could even be wiped out by the end of February in J-K.

The union territory reported 53 deaths and 3,535 coronavirus infections in January, a sharp decline from 189 deaths and 10,747 cases in December. In terms of percentage, the month saw 71% dip in deaths and 67% decline in cases in comparison to December.

In the past seven months it was for the first time that the monthly death count has gone below one hundred. Last time it was in the month of June, when the Covid cases were slowly increasing from mid-March, that Jammu and Kashmir had recorded 73 deaths and 5,051 cases.

“We are quite in control of the disease. The daily numbers have gone down considerably. Quite often we are now showing zero deaths,” said Kashmir’s health department director Samir Mattoo.

In comparison to September when the viral cases had peaked to 37,372 and deaths to 478 in the region, the month of January has registered a fall of 88% in Covid related deaths and 80% percent in infections

In November 216 people lost their lives to the virus, 293 in October, 478 in September, 326 in August, 279 in July and 73 in June.

January also recorded the lowest average daily cases of Covid-19 infections since June. While January averaged 114 coronavirus cases daily, the number was 346 in December, 514 in November, 632 in October, 1,245 in September, 559 in August, 414 in July and 168 in June.

On an average less than two daily deaths were recorded in January, six in December, seven in November while 10 were reported in October and 16 in September.

The total active cases in J-K till February 1 have dropped to 709 which account for 0.56 % of the overall tally of 1,24,550 cases. That means just half per cent of the total cases are now active.

Mattoo said that they are expecting the declining trend to continue. “I believe by the end of February we would have wiped out the disease,” he said.

A total of 1, 21,905 people have recovered from the disease while 1,936 people have lost their lives which translate to 1.55% of the total cases. A total of 1,215 people have succumbed to the disease in Kashmir and 721 in Jammu. (HT)