Srinagar district reported the highest number of 208 new cases, followed by 76 in Jammu district, the officials said. This was for the fourth time in past five days that the number of fresh COVID cases in Srinagar district was more than 200. In the Jammu division, three more patients including a woman died of coronavirus, taking the death toll due to the infection to 50, officials said. The Poonch Deputy Commissioners office was closed for visitors after three employees tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, and the public has been asked to contact the officials over the phone in case of any urgent issue. The three employees, including an operator of the deputy commissioner, were among the 139 fresh cases detected across 10 districts of the Jammu region, the officials said. They said two residents, aged 53 and 63, died at Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital over the past 24 hours, while a 43-year-old woman died at GMC Kathua on Tuesday. The three were suffering from various ailments and tested positive last week, the officials said. Jammu division has so far recorded a total of 7,413 cases, of whom 5,776 have already been cured and discharged from the hospitals, the officials said adding there are only 1,587 active cases in the division.

As coronavirus cases rise in the world, Turkey’s new infections jumped on Tuesday to their highest level since mid-June at 1,502, according to Health Ministry data, prompting the government to impose measures to combat the spread of the pandemic. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 24 more people died from COVID-19, bringing the country’s death toll to 6,163. Daily cases were last this high on June 15 – two weeks after Turkey lifted a partial lockdown – when the country logged 1,592 cases. Responding to the surge, President Tayyip Erdogan announced that all state institutions may now implement “flexible working methods”, such as working out of the office or in shifts, according to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette overnight. Earlier, the Interior Ministry said it was banning certain events and celebrations, such as engagements and henna nights, in 14 provinces, including the capital, Ankara, in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus. In a nationwide notice, it said weddings in the 14 provinces would be allowed to last a maximum of one hour, and any wedding dances, celebrations or parties were banned.