Two children tested positive for COVID19 in Kashmir today, while another person tested positive in Jammu. The toll of positive COVID19 cases in J&K has reached 14, a jump of 10 cases in just three days.

Two fresh cases, siblings, are grandchildren of COVID19 positive Srinagar man. Tweeting about the new cases, principal secretary to Government Rohit Kansal wrote, “Two more positive cases in Srinagar. Siblings (7 years old and 08-months old) grandchildren of a confirmed case from Srinagar.” The grandfather, a Natipora resident, he tweeted, had travel history to Saudi Arabia who had tested positive on 24 March.

Later in the evening, Kansal tweeted about a COVID19 positive case in Jammu. “Another positive case reported just now; patient from Rajouri district of Jammu province.” He added that the new case was a close contact of the COVID19 positive case from Srinagar who passed away on Thursday.

While Kansal had tweeted the age of the two siblings to be 7 years and 8 months, medical superintendent JLNM Hospital said, the age of one of the siblings had been misinformed and it was 4 years instead of 8-months. “The confusion happened due to an eight-month old baby being in the same quarantine,” he said.

The children tested positive for COVID19 at Chest Diseases Hospital here. The siblings are now admitted at JLNM Hospital, a designated COVID19 hospital in Srinagar. Dr Sumir Mattoo, director health services Kashmir said the children had been isolated and their mother equipped with personal protective gear. “They are asymptomatic and will be kept under observation,” he said.

The children, Dr S M Kadri, nodal officer for COVID19, directorate of health services Kashmir said, and 22 contacts of the two recent positive cases from Srinagar were quarantined at the facility. However, only two of the samples, tested till date had been found positive.

The grandfather of the fresh positive cases is admitted at Chest Diseases Hospital here.

Dr S Saleem Khan, nodal officer for COVID19 at Government Medical College, said 56 samples had been tested on Thursday and only two had been found positive, while 54 were found to be negative. He said 50 more samples had been taken and were being tested. Currently, 42 patients, suspected of COVID19, were admitted at Chest Diseases Hospital, he said.

At Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, 13 samples had been tested and found negative, while nine more samples had been taken for testing. Medical superintendent SKIMS, Dr Farooq Jan said two suspected cases, who had completed their quarantine and had been discharged.

While the first case of COVID19 in Kashmir, a female came to fore on March 18; in Jammu three cases had tested positive a week earlier. In the past three days, 10 new cases have surfaced, nine in Kashmir and one in Jammu. In Kashmir, three males tested positive on Tuesday, four cases surfaced on Wednesday, and two more on Thursday. In Jammu, today’s was the first positive case after 17 March.

Media bulletin issued by J&K government said so far 13 cases have tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir – 11 active positive, 01 recovered, 01 death. This was issued before Jammu case was announced.

The bulletin said 3053 persons have been kept under home quarantine, including at facilities operated by the Government, while as 117 are in hospital quarantine.

Persons who are under home surveillance stand at 1761 while as 551 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period.