Patient’s death spreads fear, panic in Leh

SRINAGAR: A patient from Phyang village has died in the Sonam Narbo Memorial Hospital of Leh, senior medical officials of Leh said on Saturday afternoon. Though the patient showed coronavirus-like symptoms, there was no confirmation of the same.

News of the patient’s death spread panic across Leh, Ladakh and even in Kashmir valley, according to reports. Two suspected coronavirus patients in the same hospital have been kept in an isolation ward by the authorities of the hospital.

Kashmir has a reason to panic as in the recent few weeks, several children have been affected by what doctors say is an “unknown virus” and people fear that it may be coronavirus. According to doctors in GB Panth children’s hospital of Srinagar, it is not coronavirus, but an unknown viral infection.

Doctors admitted that there have been more children in the past one week complaining of viral infection. However, the Doctors’ Association of Kashmir (DAK) in a statement said that hundreds of children in Kashmir valley have been infected by influenza B virus, which was unusual.

Doctors at the children’s hospital of Srinagar have issued an advisory, asking parents not to send infected children to tuition centers as these were one of the main sources for the spread of the infection.

“People should not panic as it is not coronavirus, but they should take precautions like keeping their infected wards in isolation,” Dr Mushtaq Ahmad of GB Panth children hospital of Srinagar said.

Meanwhile, Sonam Narbo Memorial Hospital of Leh has said that the two patients who have been kept in emergency isolation for suspected coronavirus, are showing coronavirus-like symptoms.

“We have dispatched samples of these patients for further laboratory investigation and it is not yet confirmed whether the patient who died in the hospital was infected with coronavirus,” medical superintendent of SNM hospital of Leh said.