CRPF personnel dies of COVID-19 in J&K as state death toll reaches 42

SRINAGAR: A 40-year-old CRPF personnel, who had tested positive for Covid-19, died at a hospital here, taking the number of fatalities due to the novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir to 42, officials said on Monday.

This is the first Covid-related death of a trooper in Jammu and Kashmir.

The trooper, who was posted in Anantnag district in South Kashmir, was admitted at the SKIMS hospital here on Thursday with acute respiratory distress syndrome, the officials said.

They said the sample of the trooper, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, was taken on Friday and it returned as positive for Covid-19.

His condition became critical and he passed away on Sunday night due to cardiopulmonary arrest, the officials said.

With the latest fatality, the death toll due to coronavirus infection in the union territory has gone up to 42 -- which includes two people from outside the region.