Chuchot village in Ladakh is living a nightmare ever since an elderly resident with a travel history to Iran tested positive for the novel coronavirus a fortnight ago.

Ladakh officials on Friday said two more persons from Chuchot had tested positive, taking the number of those affected in the Leh village to nine. Another person in Kargil, also in Leh, has been reported infected, taking the total number of cases in the fledgling Union Territory of Ladakh to 10.

Around half of the residents of Chuchot — a sprawling village home to around 13,000 people and around 20km from the district headquarters — are in home quarantine for the past fortnight, either because of suspected infection or because of panic.

The Chuchot patients include five members of a family, including a soldier, and two of their relatives — a doctor and his sister.

“Two more persons have tested positive. The number (of positive cases in Leh) is now nine. One of them is the sister of a doctor who had earlier tested positive,” Dr Tesring Samphel, the medical superintendent of Sonam Norbu Memorial (SNM) Hospital in Leh, told The Telegraph. “…Every new case is triggering more panic,” Chuchot’s former councillor Ghulam Saiyidain told this newspaper.

Chuchot is divided into three parts — Gongma, Shama and Yokma. Seven patients are from Gongma and two, including the doctor, are from Yokma. “The people of Shama are free to move around as no case has been reported there, but around 6,000 people living in Gongma and Yokma are confined to their homes since March 7. Most people are staying home voluntarily but some policemen have also been deployed to impose restrictions,” Saiyidain said.