5 doctors test positive for coronavirus in Kashmir

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 18

Five doctors tested positive for coronavirus in Kashmir on Sunday, taking the total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 1,188.

The fresh cases include three doctors from ENT department of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, an orthopedic surgeon from SKIMS Bemin and a dentist of Government Dental College, Srinagar.

“Five doctors tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. They include three ENT specialists, an orthopedic surgeon and a dentist,” said Dr Naveed Nazir, head of the pulmonology department at Chest Disease (CD) hospital.

Their samples were tested for coronavirus at microbiology lab of the CD hospital, Nazir said.

“Most of them had come in close contact with a Covid patient of Srinagar who died on Sunday,” he said.

Apart from the orthopedic, he said, the other four doctors had treated the deceased patient.

Kashmir reported 13th Covid-19 death on Sunday after a 29-year-old female from Habba Kadal locality of Srinagar died at CD hospital.

“A female patient died on Sunday at CD hospital. She had tested positive for coronavirus during her treatment at SMHS hospital two days back,” said Dr Muhammad Salim Khan, nodal officer for Covid-19 at Government Medical College, Srinagar, and its associated hospitals.

She was previously operated in SMHS hospital by ENT surgeons for Ludwig’s Angina (submandibular abscess) and mediastinitis, Khan said.

He said at SMHS hospital, she developed septic shock and was shifted to Surgical Intensive Care Unit.

After testing positive for coronavirus, she was shifted to CD Hospital two days back and died there, he said.

So far, 13 doctors, three nurses, and five healthcare workers have got infected with the virus in J&K.

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