The J&K Government has established several COVID-19 hospitals which are working round-the-clock and performing sample testing swiftly.
Director, Health ServicesKashmir, Dr Samir Mattoo said the government established eight hospitals inKashmir and three in Jammu—exclusively for COVID-19 cases.
“All our eight COVID-19hospitals are performing well and we have been able to reach out to people withsome sort of relief amid this healthcare crisis,” Dr Mattoo said.
Dr Mattoo said withcoronavirus declared as pandemic, it becomes imperative for all citizens tocooperate with the authorities to prevent and contain the outbreak.
He said the government hastaken a slew of measures in terms of screening people particularly inboundtravelers, surveillance and quarantine, isolation of suspects and wascontinuously monitoring the situation.
“People shouldn’t panic,but at the same time general public is requested to act and adhere to theadvisories and Dos & Don’ts issued by the Health Department,” Dr Mattoosaid.
The Director said theDirectorate of Health Services, Kashmir was imparting specialized trainings to52 lab technicians who were undergoingtraining at the JLNM Hospital. They have been directed to study the Red Zonesand Buffer Zones and launch the mass contact tracing.
They have been trained toperform the donning, doffing, while as with the help of Mobile Designated Vans(MDV) and the healthcare professionals have been able to increase thescientific sampling and testing of suspects across Kashmir.
He said as a precautionarymeasure, people were requested not to visit hospitals unnecessarily or in caseof minor ailments.
Dr Mattoo said hundreds oftreatment beds and additional quarantine beds have also been earmarked, besidesadequate capacity to handle any possible rush.
He said the Directorate ofHealth Services, Kashmir also constituted a team of district nodal officers forCOVID-19, who were closely working in their respective districts to assess thesituation.
“We have created afull proof mechanism where people can contact us and we will provide them basicopinions about keeping themselves happy and healthy,” said Dr Qazi Haroon,who is also OSD with DHSK.
The Directorate has beenproactive in innovating and is keeping the administrative department aware ofthe evolving requirements of healthcare service delivery mechanisms andcontemporary means by which the health setup of Kashmir can keep the pace withthe expectations of the public.
Thehealthcare officials urged people to stay indoors, strictly implement socialdistancing measures, disclose recent travel history to COVID-19 affectedcountries and report any contact with positive cases voluntarily to flatten theCOVID-19 curve.