First death in Kashmir: 65-year-old religious preacher dies of coronavirus

Srinagar, Mar 26: A 65-year-old religious preacher who had tested positive for the coronavirus died in a Srinagar hospital on early Thursday, making it the first Covid-19-linked death in Jammu and Kashmir.

"As we share the sad news of our first #Covid19 fatality, my heart goes out to the family of the deceased. We stand with you and share your grief," confirmed Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu on Twitter.

the religious preacher had extensively travelled in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Samba, Jammu, Srinagar and Sopore to participate in religious events.

Government spokesperson Rohit Kansal also confirmed the death via Twitter. "First death due to Coronavirus- 65 years old Male from Hyderpora Srinagar. Four of his contacts also tested positive yesterday," Kansal said. Four people had tested positive for coronavirus in J-K on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 11.

As per a government bulletin on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir, as many as 5,124 travellers and people who came in contact with suspected and positive cases have been put under surveillance.

Among them 3,061 are in home quarantine (including facilities operated by the government), 80 in hospital quarantine and 1,477 in home surveillance. Restrictions on movement imposed in Kashmir to prevent the spread of coronavirus were tightened on Wednesday.