Former chief minister Omar Abdullah walked free on Tuesday after nearly eight months in captivity, only to find himself in a “very different world” where fighting the deadly coronavirus seemed to be his priority.

Omar, arrested hours ahead of the August 5 decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status as a state, was released soon after the newly created Union Territory’s administration quashed his detention under the Public Safety Act.

“It’s a very different world today to the one that existed on 5th August 2019,” he tweeted.

Covid-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh rose to 20 on Tuesday as three more people tested positive in the Valley.

“We are fighting a battle of life and death,” Omar told reporters.