J&K govt considering Army facilities for quarantine to contain COVID-19
Jammu: Spelling out various measures taken to check the spread of coronavirus, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday said Army facilities can be roped in for isolation purpose while training centres can also be explored for quarantine camps.
It also said advisories have been issued to all hospitals to suspend all non-essential OPDs and surgeries besides a triage has been developed with the opening of flu clinics in major hospitals to avoid intermingling of COVID-19 suspects with other patients.
A high-level meeting chaired by Union Minister Jitendra Singh was held here to review the preparedness of the Union territory in dealing with the pandemic, an official spokesman said, adding that the meeting was attended by Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar and Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education Department, Atal Dulloo, among others.
Four persons with travel history to foreign countries have been tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir, which has come under a virtual lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease.
Dulloo presented a detailed report about various measures taken by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus in the UT and said a decision has been taken to quarantine all foreigners arriving in Jammu and Kashmir and passengers coming from Ladakh where a total of 13 people were found positive for coronavirus infection.
“With regard to isolation facilities, it was said that apart from the established facilities in several hospitals and other locations, the Army facilities at Udhampur, Nagrota and Satwari in Jammu region and Srinagar can be roped in for isolation purpose while the training centres of Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) can also be explored for quarantine facilities,” the spokesman said.
Dulloo said all vehicles entering Jammu and Kashmir will be decontaminated at Lakhanpur bordering Punjab and Lower Munda in Kashmir, while deputy commissioners have been asked to involve urban local bodies in sanitisation of crowded places, offices and hospitals.
Measures have been taken for surveillance and contact tracing network with 253 people who had come in contact with the positive cases having been traced and put under surveillance.
About the availability of safety logistics and equipment, the Union Minister was informed that the Health Department has adequate number of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, masks, sanitisers, ventilators while orders have been placed to augment the stock.
To add to existing laboratory testing facilities besides SKIMS Soura, Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar and GMC Jammu, a possibility is being explored to start testing at Army Command Hospital labs in Udhampur and at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu.
