JAMMU: A senior Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officer on Saturday died of COVID-19 at a hospital here, officials said, as Jammu district surpassed Srinagar to head the virus fatality chart among the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Special Secretary to Government, Finance Department, Shamim Ahmad Wani was recently admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital Jammu after he tested positive for COVID-19, the officials said.
They said 54-year-old Wani breathed his last in the morning and is being laid to rest in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.
Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam expressed grief over the demise of Wani.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family members of the officer, the chief secretary remembered Wani as a “dedicated, soft spoken and well-meaning officer” who served with commitment in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam, Special Secretary, Finance and Commissioner, State Taxes, among others.
Jammu and Kashmir has recorded over 570 COVID-19 related deaths in the past three weeks with the Jammu region registering 340 fatalities against 219 in Kashmir division till Friday evening
Jammu district accounted for over 200 such deaths to reach the overall tally of 613, which is highest among the 20 districts. Srinagar with 597 deaths is placed second in the chart but continued to be among the worst hit districts with the highest number of cumulative cases, which stand at 51,361 against 38,645 in Jammu district till Friday evening.
While there are 10,800 active cases in Srinagar, the number of such cases in Jammu district stands at 7,087, an official bulletin said.
The overall fatality figure in the union territory stands at 2,612 among a total of 2,06,954 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, with Kashmir accounting for the highest 1,515 deaths against 1,097 in Jammu province till Friday evening.
There are 44,307 active cases in the UT while 1,60,035 patients have recovered after successful treatment, as per the bulletin.
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