Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam, Wednesday took stock of measures put in place by the Health Department to prevent spread of Coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, an official handout said.
All AdministrativeSecretaries, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Mission Director, National HealthMission (NHM) and Director Information participated in the meeting.
The Chief Secretary whilereviewing the prevailing situation in J&K emphasized that people should beadvised to defer or cancel their family functions and congregations.
“If not avoidable, theymust reduce the size of gathering to bare minimal,” he said. It was advisedthat avoidable travel or movement should also be discouraged to minimize risk oftransmission of infection.
The Chief Secretaryappealed to the general public to maintain social distance and avoid closecontact.
The DivisionalCommissioners and all Deputy Commissioners were asked to minimize, reduce orcancel all avoidable gatherings wherever possible in their respectivejurisdictions, as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of theinfection.
The Chief Secretary askedall the Secretaries and other senior officers to conduct meetings/interactionsover Video Conference so as to avoid large meetings wherever possible. Further,he also asked them to have such meetings, workshops and seminars also deferredin their subordinate departments/offices, as a precautionary step.
The Chief Secretary said asper the guidelines issued by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, eachdepartment has its own role to play so that there were coordinated efforts tomeet out the evolving Coronavirus situation in J&K.
Earlier, FinancialCommissioner, Health, apprised the meeting about the present situation in thisregard and preventive measures put in place to contain and manage theCoronavirus infection.
He informed the meetingthat highest level of alertness was being maintained through proper screeningchecks at the airports, where 100 percent declaration was being strictly madeto be followed, while as health desks have been put in place at railwaystations for awareness of travelers.
Random road checks at thetwo entry points at Lakhanpur in Kathua and Qazigund (Lower Munda) in Anantnagwere in place with a similar check post at Katra to ensure that people visitingthe shrine do not miss screening for history of travel, contact or symptoms.
The FC Health, furtherinformed that Coronavirus lab testing facilities have already been started atSher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar and GovernmentMedical College, Jammu besides surveillance teams have been constituted acrossall districts to meet any kind of eventuality.
The J&K level ControlRoom has been established by NHM at Nagrota and Divisional Level Control Roomshave also been established which were functional 24X7. Besides, the DeputyCommissioners have also set up such Control Rooms in their respectivedistricts, he said.
Details with regard toisolation/quarantine facilities and extensive Information, Education &Communication (IEC) campaign were also given out in the meeting.