Coronavirus scare
As the Novel Coronavirus outbreak which has claimed 425 lives in China, creates a scare in many states, India on Tuesday cancelled all visas from China. Though the move may seem more of a cosmetic in nature but it will help in containing the spread of the coronavirus.
At present three confirmed cases of Coronavirus have been reported in India, all from Kerala. The Kerala government has declared the outbreak as a state calamity and the Central government set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to monitor measures taken across the country to prevent the virus from spreading further.
Coronavisrus spread is creating so much of scare across the globe that 15 people from Jammu and Kashmir who had recently visited China were put on ‘isolation’ so that their blood samples can be taken for examination.
The samples of 10 of these people who had flue like symptoms were taken and they have been sent for analyses.
Though the situation is not alarming in Jammu and Kashmir but the administration has woken up and established a 33 bedded isolation ward at Government Medical College Jammu for Coronavirus cases and 22 bedded such facility at GMC, Srinagar, SKIMS Soura and Maternity Hospital Sanatnagar in Kashmir valley. The sample taking facility has been kept at GMC Srinagar and GMC Jammu.
The Government ordered the establishment of a control room in the State Surveillance Office in Srinagar and Jammu, quarantine of suspected patients, advisory to all districts and announcements to be made at Railway Stations and Airports.
The new strain of Coronavirus, which originated in Hubei province in central China late last year, has so far killed more than 425 people amid more than 19,000 total reported cases. Globally, around 136 cases have been reported and two of them are from Kerala in India.
However, apart from the customary preparedness the admin should equip the hospitals so that they can deal with potential cases of the deadly infection.
If the virus sneaks into the valley, public safety will depend on hospital preparedness. The admin needs to make the hospitals ready so that they are prepared to identify, isolate and treat patients to prevent the spread of the disease.
Besides, doctors and paramedics should be trained for screening, testing and treatment of this novel (new) virus so that any sort of exigency can be treated with ease. The hospitals also need to be supplied and equipped with all sorts of medicines and other essentials that are needed to fight the virus.
KV Online
