Srinagar, April 7: Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah on Wednesday got the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and said that it was a smooth and painless affair.

Mr. Abdullah got the first dose of vaccine at the S K Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura.

“Got my 1st dose of the #COVIDvaccine this morning. It was a smooth & painless affair. I’m grateful to everyone at SKIMS, Srinagar for vaccinating me today,” Mr. Abdullah wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah’s father and National Conference (NC) president, who was admitted to SKIMS last week, reportedly once again tested positive for CVOID-19. Dr. Abdullah had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 30, weeks after he got the first dose of vaccine against the virus at SKIMS in Srinagar.

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday suspended all ‘close contact sports’ activities as a precautionary measure in view of the surge in COVID-19 infection in the Union Territory. This decision came, a day after all educational institutes, including government and private schools, up to class 12th were closed in view of rising in COVID-19 cases in the Union Territory.

Amid a spike in COVID cases, Jammu and Kashmir government last month classified Srinagar as an orange zone while all other districts have been declared as green zones, whereas Lakhanpur was declared as a containment zone and Jawahar Tunnel area on either side as Red zones. As many as 561 new positive cases of novel Coronavirus, including 384 from the Kashmir division and 177 from the Jammu division, were reported on Tuesday when two people died due to COVID-19 in the UT. (UNI)