The second wave of Covid-19 that gripped India and other countries alike has also spread its tentacles in Jammu and Kashmir. On this steep surge of Covid in J&K, the experts believe that people need to remain more vigilant giving the change in the pattern of symptoms to detect the virus. Over the past week, J&K daily reports over a thousand new positive cases and more frequency in deaths. Case tally has touched 144,021 on Friday while the death toll reaches 2,048. Active cases also have increased to 10,620 while the recovery rate decreases to 91.20 per cent.
The intensity of the situation available in J&K can be gauged from the facts that the Government has to order the closure of schools, cancellation of many events, restrictions of social gatherings and night curfew. Covid scare has also compelled the government to defer the biannual Darbar Move that was earlier announced.
The renowned Gastroenterologist Dr Mohammad Sultan Khuroo, the retired Director SKIMS has said that apart from the spike in the cases, the change in the pattern of symptoms is also, a new challenge to tackle. According to him, in the first wave, the common symptoms were cough, cold, fever and sore throat, red tongue and other mild symptoms related to respiratory infections but nowadays the common symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness, eyeball pain and even vomiting.
In many such cases, the nasal and RTPCR test can show negative for Covid-19 but one can still have the virus.
On how to detect the virus with new symptoms, Khuroo said that if a patient has lung disease and his CT scan shows typical appearance which is not seen in other diseases, “it means a patient has contracted Covid-19 infection.”
“As younger people are nowadays being tested positive for Covid-19, most often the virus is unable to penetrate the lungs, so it affects other parts of the body which then shows symptoms like tiredness, lethargy, body ache and fatigue', was Dr. Khuroo's expert opinion. Senior doctors at SMHS and CD hospital said that in around 20 per cent cases, there is cold and fever which makes it difficult to diagnose the virus, while new symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain are common nowadays.
Another medical expert Dr Khursheed Ahmad, a pulmonologist at CD hospital expressed the opinion that the frequency of cases have increased and symptoms nowadays like fever, cough, cold and respiratory infections, vomiting, eye-ball pain and other symptoms are also coming to the fore.
The new wave of infections, combined with a shortage of hospital beds, Oxygen supplies and vaccines, threatens the recovery from the pandemic. Though the UT Administration has taken enough measures to contain the Covid spread its strategy should focus on testing, tracing and treating the infected.
Some opinions expressed that it is time to impose tougher restrictions to slow down the wave within Jammu and Kashmir Divisions and also intra-districts may not be a sensible approach as of now.
Keeping in view the seriousness and enormity of the challenge, the citizens should leave the technicalities for the experts only and simply follow the three golden rules to escape the wrath of Covid pandemic i.e. Wear Mask, keep distance and wash hands frequently.
