Srinagar, Apr 21 (IANS): After 41 people tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in Danger Mohalla (Gund Jahangeer) of Bandipora district, authorities on Tuesday decided to quarantine the entire village with a population of 400.

This is the first village in Jammu and Kashmir, where the entire population has been put under quarantine.

"After 36 out of 41 positive cases in the Gund Jahangeer area turned out to have come from Danger Mohalla, the entire village which has a population of 400 has been put under quarantine.

"Half of the village population is under administrative quarantine while the other half has been restrained into home quarantine", a top official told IANS.

The most baffling part of the infection spread in this village is that the first positive patient, who later passed away in a Srinagar hospital, had no travel history.

"The son of the deceased said his father had been bedridden for four months and he had not travelled outside the valley.

"He was a fruit merchant who had not gone out nor met any contact from outside the valley during the days of his sickness which was due to multiple ailments like kidney dysfunction, cardio-vascular problems, etc.

"We have found that people from the village used to call on him during his sickness.

"Whether he got the virus from his visitors or he gave it to them is still a mystery", the officer said.

Twelve of the 36 infected people in the village are members of the deceased's extended family or his friends and neighbours.

Authorities are still working hard on contact tracing of the people from this village who in all livelihood would have moved into adjoining areas before the infection became full blown in this village.

Consequent upon the increase in the number of positive cases in this village, Bandipora district has now 91 COVID-19 cases which is the highest in J&K followed by Srinagar district at 79 cases.