Kashmir now under virus lockdown

Srinagar, March 20 (KMS): Kashmir has been put under virtual lockdown as authorities scrambled through the previous night to come up with a strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus in the Valley, a day after a woman with travel history to Saudi Arabia tested positive for the disease.
Public transport in Srinagar city, the summer capital of the Indian occupied Kashmir, was ordered off the roads, while markets were shut on orders of the authorities.
The steps were taken hours after a 67-year-old woman from Khanyar, who had returned on March 16 from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, tested positive for COVID-19, officials said here.
As the infected person was not placed under any quarantine or isolation upon her return, the authorities had to seal off the entire neighbourhood of Khanyar falling within 300 metres radius of the affected patient’s residence, the officials said.
Several relatives of the infected woman who had primary contact with her have been advised to undergo tests while others, who might have had secondary contact with the patient, have been asked to undergo self-isolation for two weeks.
While educational institutions across Kashmir have already been closed, the authorities in the city have shut down almost all public places including gymnasiums, clubs and restaurants.
Most of the 10 districts in the valley have restrictions in place on assembly of four or more persons under Section 144 CrPC.