Coronavirus threat: 705 persons under surveillance in JK, 29 test reports awaited
Srinagar: The total number of officially confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID 19) in Jammu and Kashmir remained one on Tuesday even though 56 samples have been collected so far to check any cases for the novel coronavirus, declared as a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ (PHEIC) by the WHO.
Officials said that out of the 56 samples, reports of 29 are awaited while 26 have tested negative. The UT has already reported one positive case after a sexagenarian woman from Jammu who had returned from Iran tested positive.
Regarding SKIMS, they said one more person with suspected coronovirus symptoms and travel history from affected countries was admitted to the tertiary care hospital where now six persons are admitted for quarantine and one person has been kept in ‘isolation’.
“Two test reports came negative and one of them was that of the person admitted in SMHS Hospital and other is that of person kept in SKIMS facility,” they said.
Giving details of overall scenario in UT of J&K, they said, till date 705 persons having travelled to affected countries and those who have come in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance. Of them, they said, 491 are in Home Quarantine (including Yatri Bhawan, Jammu), nine in “Hospital Quarantine” and 53 in home surveillance. 150 persons have completed their 28 days surveillance period, they said.
So far 115 countries have been affected by coronovirus and there are 114,635 confirmed cases, 4,031 deaths with majority of them in China, Italy, South Korea and Iran.
“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,” a senior official said. He said Coronavirus lab testing facilities have been started in Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura , Srinagar and Govt. Medical College Jammu.
Control rooms and surveillance teams have been constituted across all the districts of the UT to meet any sort of eventuality, he said. “Universal self-declaration has been made mandatory from 4th of March at Jammu and Srinagar airports,” he 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 only remedy.
“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 resorted to so as 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 and leaflets etc.” (with inputs from GNS)
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