2 coronavirus patients cured in Ladakh, cases in UT stand at 11

Leh: Two persons who tested positive for coronavirus have recovered and were released from the hospital in the Union Territory of Ladakh, where no fresh case was reported during the past five days, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Commissioner Secretary (Health) Rigzin Samphel, however, said both the cured patients have been moved to a quarantine facility and will remain under surveillance. Technically, now we have only 11 COVID-19 positive cases from the earlier 13 cases because two of them have tested negative and accordingly shifted from the isolation ward of the hospital to a quarantine facility. They will remain under surveillance, Samphel told reporters here. He said the condition of the rest of the 11 patients is stable.The test reports of 18 samples – 15 from Kargil and three from Leh — were received from Delhi and all of these were negative, he said. Seeking cooperation of the people for the success of the lockdown which came into force in the region on Sunday evening to contain the spread of coronavirus, Samphel said the divisional commissioner had on Monday ordered the suspension of operation of commercial vehicles which were plying on some routes.In the coming days, the administration is introducing free ambulance services for the benefit of patients, he said.The official also made an appeal to the retired doctors to join the OPD of hospitals for 3-4 hours to assist the medical employees and reduce their workload in this hour of crisis.