J&K declares five districts 'Red-Zones' as virus engulfs rural areas [Details]

With a surge in positive cases in new areas, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday classified five districts namely Pulwama, Anantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, and Kupwara as 'Red Zones'

The Jawahar Tunnel - the entry point to Kashmir Valley and Lakhanpur - the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir - within a buffer of a 500-meter radius, were also placed under 'Red-Category'.

At the beginning of this month, only Srinagar-the summer of the capital of Jammu and Kashmir was declared as 'Red-Zone'. After a downward trend, Srinagar has been removed from 'Red Category' after a downward trend, but the number of Red Zones has increased from one to five in one month.

Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam on Saturday announced a slew of corrective measures to contain the COVID situation in J&K by classifying all 20 districts into Red, Orange, and Green categories. All remaining 15 districts of Jammu are categorized as 'organize zones'.

Orange zones likely to get some relaxations

"This categorization of districts into Red, Orange, and Green zones/ districts will be followed for the purposes of implementation of permitted activities in the respective districts, as per an order issued by the State Executive Committee (SEC).

This classification of districts will be reviewed periodically and any further modifications will be made by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir," the order issued by Chief Secretary reads, adding, "All instructions relating to health, safety precautions, and social distancing continue to apply."

Recoveries surpassing positive cases

During the last 10 days, recoveries have been surpassing positive cases in J&K. On Saturday 2,253 new positive cases of Coronavirus were reported across the UT and 794 cases were reported from the Jammu division and 1,459 from Kashmir Valley, thus taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 2,86,684. Also, 46 COVID deaths have been reported- 30 from Jammu Division and 16 from Kashmir Valley.

Moreover, 4,334 more patients have recovered and discharged from various hospitals including 1,898 from Jammu Division and 2,436 from Kashmir Division, while 339 beds ICU beds are vacant as of Saturday evening. Currently, 3,301 dedicated COVID isolation beds are also vacant, an indication of improvement in the situation.