Nadeem Nadu
Srinagar, March 12 (GNS): Two more persons with “symptoms of coronovirus” were admitted to SKIMS Soura even as 1433 people across the Jammu and Kashmir were put under surveillance.
Also, officials told GNS, test reports of 44 persons are awaited across the union territory of J&K where 1178 persons are in “home quarantine”, 17 in “hospital quarantine” and 80 in “home surveillance.”
“74 samples have been sent for testing, 29 have come negative and one tested positive (sexagenarian woman from Jammu who had returned from Iran recently),” officials said, adding, “44 test reports are awaited.”
They said 158 persons have completed their 28 days surveillance period. A senior doctor at SKIMS told GNS that two more persons were admitted to SKIMS for “coronovirus like symptoms.” “We have collected their samples and sent them for tests,” he said.
So far over a hundred countries have been affected by coronovirus and as per MoH&FW, GoI, all incoming international travellers including Indians, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after 15 febuary shall be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days. This will come into effect from Friday (March 13) at the port of departure.
“UT of J&K has strengthened the Surveillance and Control measures against the disease. Helpline nos: +91-0191-2549676 (UT level Cell for J&K), +91-0191-2520982 (For Jammu Division), +91-0194-2440283 (For Kashmir Division) are functional,” officials said. Corona- Virus lab testing facilities have been started in Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar and Govt. Medical College Jammu, they said.
Control rooms and surveillance teams have been constituted across all the districts of the UT to meet any sort of eventuality, they said. “Universal self-declaration has been made mandatory from 4th of March at Jammu and Srinagar airports,” they said, adding, “Screening of travellers has been started at Lakhanpur and Lower Munda toll posts as well as Jammu, Katra and Udhampur Railway stations, where Health Help Desks have also been setup.”
As Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) has no definite treatment so prevention is the best, every person has the capacity to contribute, to protect themselves, to protect others, whether in the home, the community, the healthcare system, the workplace or the transport system. “The spread of this virus can be significantly slowed or even reversed through the implementation of robust containment and control activities,” the official said, “Accordingly wide publicity is being done to create awareness in the community through health education messages especially on hand washing, cough etiquette and home isolation by electronic, print media, radio jingles & leaflets etc.” (GNS)
