Jammu: Three people, including a former MLC, died of the coronavirus in the Jammu region, while senior BJP leader and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma on Thursday said that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
With these deaths, the coronavirus-related death toll in the region in Jammu and Kashmir now stands at 57, officials said.
Former MLC and Congress leader Chuni Lal, who tested positive for the coronavirus disease on August 24, breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Kathua in the early hours of Thursday, they said.
The 87-year-old leader was suffering from various ailments and was admitted to the hospital last week, the officials said.
They also said that a 63-year-old man, hailing from Rajouri district, died at the GMC hospital here on Wednesday evening after battling for life for the last five days. He also had comorbidities, the officials said.
A 70-year-old woman, who had tested COVID-19 positive, in Jammu district died at the GMC hospital here, they said.
On Thursday, 158 people tested positive for the virus in the region, the officials said, adding that the total number of cases is now 7,766 of which 5991 have recovered.
Jammu district tops the chart with 37 deaths followed by five in Rajouri district, three each in Poonch and Kathua districts, two each in Udhampur, Samba and Doda districts and one each in Ramban and Kishtwar districts.
BJP leader Sharma, who represents Jammu-Poonch constituency in the Parliament, informed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and asked those who have come in contact with him to take the coronavirus test for their safety.
In a tweet in Hindi, Sharma said he had a mild fever in the night and underwent COVID-19 test, which had returned positive
