Covid-19 spike: Ladakh registers 944 positive cases in 6 days, Leh most affected
12 micro-containment zones in Leh: Official
Leh, Apr 17: With the resurgence of a deadly Coronavirus across India, Ladakh in the past six days have added 944 COVID-19 positive cases including one death taking the total toll of infected people to 1363 this year.
The Ladakh Union Territory, which comprises two districts Leh and Kargil, Leh is the most affected having 1106 cases active as of Saturday.
Top officials in the region told that Ladakh in the ensuing week reported 944 COVID-19 positive cases with 903 alone in the Leh district including death, while Kargil reported only 41 cases with no fatality.
“The positive rate in Leh started to show an unexpected rise from Tuesday when Ladakh reported a total of 125 cases,” he said.
The official said that on Wednesday the steep rise continued in Leh it reported 154 cases of the 165 total cases, while only 11 cases were reported in Kargil.
On Thursday, Leh reported the death of a positive patient and alone recorded 208 positive cases of the entire Union Territory of Ladakh, the official said.
He said that on Friday of a total of 186 cases 166 were reported in Leh and 20 in Kargil taking the total active positive cases to 1165.
He said that on Saturday a total of 245 cases were reported in the entire Ladakh of which 236 were reported in Leh alone and only nine in Kargil taking the total active positive cases to 1363 in the entire region.
Earlier in a news conference the District Magistrate (DM) Leh, Shrikant Suse said there is a steep rise in the positive cases in Ladakh and Leh in particular.
Suse termed the incoming workforce (Labourers) and tourists the main reason for the surge in cases and stated that 85 per cent of the positive cases are outsiders while only 15 per cent are locals.
The official source further informed that the DM on Saturday received the COVID-19 situation in the district and directed the labour groups to follow the SOP’s and warned of legal action those violating the set protocols.
He said that the authorities have notified 12 micro-containment zones in Leh district after a cluster of cases were reported from the identified locations.
The top officer also informed that the daily testing average in Ladakh stands at about 800 RTPCR tests besides 400 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
“100 percent testing is done at all the entry points,” the official maintained.
A total of 132 COVID positive patients have died in Ladakh UT of which 88 belong to Leh and 44 from Kargil, the official said.
An official said that Ladakh has reported a total of 11,709 cases of which 2240 from Kargil and 9469 in Leh with an 87 per cent recovery rate of which 8086 (85%) belong to Leh and 2128 (95%) recovered cases belong to Kargil taking to total toll to 10,214.(KNO)
