J-K reports 18 fresh COVID cases, 9 from tertiary care hospitals; total nears 800

Jammu and Kashmir reported 18 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, nine of them from three tertiary care hospitals here, ringing alarm bells in the health community of the union territory.

"18 fresh positive cases have been detected in the last 24 hours. Total positives in the union territory now at 793," officials said.

They said while Jammu now has a total of 68 cases, 725 were positive in total in the Kashmir valley.

Among the fresh cases detected in Kashmir on Thursday, nine are related to three tertiary care hospitals of the valley, in a major setback to the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Out of 719 samples tested at Chest Diseases Hospital, nine are positive," Nodal Officer, COVID-19 at Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Salim Khan told PTI.

He said all these nine samples were related to three tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar.

"Out of the nine, six samples were taken from patients admitted at Bone and Joint Hospital, while two are from SMHS including the man who died late last night," Khan said.

He said the other positive case is of a doctor working at Super Speciality hospital here.

The emergence of cases from these three hospitals, including that of the doctor, and along with the death of a patient who later tested positive on Wednesday night at SMHS hospital, has rang alarm bells in the health community.