40 travelers among 697 fresh positive cases
WHO study shows Remdesivir has little or no effect on Covid-19 patients
Masrat Nabi
Srinagar, Oct 16 : Jammu and Kashmir Friday recorded eight Covid-19 related deaths taking the death toll to 1366 in the Union Territory while as 697 positive cases were reported pushing the J&K tally to 86,754.
Of the total 86,754 cases, 51,948 are from Kashmir and 34,806 from Jammu division. Officials told that among 697 new cases, 385 belong to Kashmir division while as 312 are from Jammu division, adding that the total number of positive cases in Kashmir division have reached to 51,948 including 45,823 recoveries and 916 deaths while as total number of positive cases in Jammu division have reached to 34,806 including 30,656 recoveries and 450 deaths.
The officials said that total number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir are 8,909 including 5,209 from Kashmir division and 3,700 from Jammu division.
With 838 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in Jammu and Kashmir has reached to 76,479 which is 88.15 percent of the total cases.
“Cases tested positive in J&K include 155 from Srinagar, 28 from Budgam, 40 from Baramulla, 19 from Pulwama, 33 from Kupwara, 45 from Anantnag, 21 from Bandipora, 23 from Ganderbal, 21 from Kulgam and 00 from Shopian in Kashmir division while as 312 from Jammu division include 121 from Jammu, 21 from Rajouri, 04 from Udhampur, 30 from Doda, 14 from Kuthua, 44 from Poonch, 19 from Samba, 31 from Kishtiwar, 08 from Ramban and 20 from Reasi,” officials disclosed.
Notably, in the last 24 hours, eight persons who were tested positive for COVID-19 have died which include three from Kashmir division and five from Jammu division.
As per media bulletin, patients who have died include one each from Srinagar, Baramulla and Kupwara in Kashmir division while as five deaths from Jammu division include four from Jammu district and one from Reasi.
As per officials figures, 17,401 positive cases including 328 deaths and 15,253 recoveries are from Srinagar, 5,582 including 90 deaths and 4,992 recoveries are from Budgam, 5,105 including 3,694 recoveries and 134 deaths are from Baramulla, 4,370 including 4,019 recoveries and 75 deaths are from Pulwama, 4,019 including 71 deaths and 3,684 recoveries are from Kupwara, 3,905 including 3,516 recoveries and 70 deaths are from Anantnag, 3,795 cases including 3,462 and 42 deaths are from Bandipora, 3,277 including 2,977 recoveries and 30 deaths are from Ganderbal, 2,382 including 2,244 recoveries and 43 deaths are from Kulgam and 2,112 including 1,982 recoveries and 33 deaths are from Shopian.
In Jammu division, 15,871 including 14,451 recoveries and 236 deaths are from Jammu district, 3,095 including 2,638 recoveries and 45 deaths are from Rajouri, 2,551 including 2,375 recoveries and 25 deaths are from Udhampur, 2,473 including 2,115 recoveries and 40 deaths are from Doda, 2,318 including 2,227 recoveries and 29 deaths are from Kuthua, 2,114 including 1,417 recoveries and 22 deaths are from Poonch, 2,053 including 1,612 recoveries and 24 deaths are from Samba, 1,660 including 1,436 recoveries and 11 deaths are from Kishtwar, 1,485 including 1,422 recoveries and 11 deaths are from Ramban and 1,186 including 963 recoveries and 07 deaths are from Reasi.
As per the daily information bulletin, 623,633 persons in Jammu and Kashmir are under observation while 24,165 persons have been kept under home quarantine besides that 8,909 persons are in isolation.
According to the bulletin, 538,425 persons have completed surveillance period and 50,768 persons are under home surveillance besides that so far results of 1,952,850 samples are available.
Out of 1,952,850 the number of samples tested negative stands at 1,866,096 while 86,754 have tested positive, among them 8,909 are active, 76,479 persons have recovered and 1,366 persons have died.
Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir had little or no effect on Covid-19 patients’ length of hospital stay or chances of survival, a clinical trial by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found reported Reuters.
The antiviral medication, among the first to be used as a treatment for Covid-19, was one of the drugs recently used to treat US President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection.
The results are from WHO’s “Solidarity” trial, which evaluated the effects of four potential drug regimens, including remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, anti-HIV drug combination lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon, in 11,266 adult patients across more than 30 countries.
The study found the regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the length of the in-hospital course among patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the WHO said on Thursday.
The results of the trial are yet to be reviewed and were uploaded on the preprint server medRxiv.
Earlier this month, data from a US study of remdesivir by Gilead showed the treatment cut Covid-19 recovery time by five days compared with patients who got a placebo in a trial comprising 1,062 patients.
“The emerging (WHO) data appears inconsistent, with more robust evidence from multiple randomized, controlled studies published in peer-reviewed journals validating the clinical benefit of remdesivir,” Gilead told Reuters.
“We are concerned the data from this open-label global trial has not undergone the rigorous review required to allow for constructive scientific discussion, particularly given the limitations of the trial design.”
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Wednesday that during the study, hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir were stopped in June after they proved ineffective, but other trials continued in more than 500 hospitals and 30 countries.
“We’re looking at what’s next. We’re looking at monoclonal anti-bodies, we’re looking at immunomodulators and some of the newer anti-viral drugs that have been developed in the last few months,” Swaminathan said.
Remdesivir received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration on May 1, and has since been authorized for use in several countries.
