JAMMU – The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday ordered closure of all educational institutes across the union territory till March 31 as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus scare.
Cinema halls in all the 10 districts of Jammu division will also remain closed till March 31, officials said.
While only one person has tested positive for the contagious coronavirus in the union territory, one man with high viral-load has been reported and his samples have been sent to the National Centre for Disease Control in New Delhi, they said.
“All schools, colleges and universities of Jammu and Kashmir to suspend teaching and class work till March 31,” Director National Health Mission (NHM), Bhupinder Kumar, told reporters here.
However, board and competitive examinations will be conducted as per schedule, he added.
“COVID19 JammuAndKashmir Cinema Halls in all 10 districts of Jammu province to remain closed till March 31,” Principal Secretary, Information, Rohit Kansal tweeted.
As many as 1,211 travellers and people in contact with suspected cases have been put under active surveillance, the NHM director said, adding that 150 of these have completed surveillance period of 28 days and 12 are under hospital quarantine.
He said 64 samples of suspected cases have been sent for testing so far and 28 of them have reported negative. Of the earlier two cases that were reported with high viral-load, one has tested positive and another is being re-tested, while reports of 35 people are awaited, he said.
Spelling out measures being taken up to contain the coronavirus spread, the NHM director said the union territory has strengthened the surveillance and control measures against the disease and helpline numbers have already been established for advice and assistance in this regard.
Besides, coronavirus lab testing facilities have been started in Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, and Government Medical College, Jammu.
Control rooms and surveillance teams have been constituted in all districts of the union territory to meet any sort of eventuality, he said.
Kumar said universal self-declaration has been made mandatory at Jammu and Srinagar airports. Besides, screening of travellers has also been started at Lakhanpur and Lower Munda toll posts as well as Jammu, Katra and Udhampur Railway stations.
He assured people that the whole situation is being monitored and reviewed very closely at all levels.
He asked people, especially those with travel history to affected countries such as China, Italy, Iran, South Korea etc, to self declare immediately and report to the nearest government health facility if any symptoms are found.
CS Urges People To Avoid Large Gatherings, Unnecessary Travel
Chief Secretary, B. V. R. Subrahmanyam on Wednesday urged people to put on hold family functions and congregations and avoid unnecessary travel to minimize risk of transmission of coronavirus infection.
In a statement issued here, an official spokesperson said that CS took stock of measures put in place by the Health Department to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir.
All Administrative Secretaries, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM) and Director Information participated in the meeting.
Chief Secretary emphasized that people should be advised to defer or cancel their family functions and congregations. If not avoidable, they must reduce the size of gathering to bare minimal. It was advised that avoidable travel or movement should also be discouraged to minimize risk of transmission of infection.
CS appealed to the general public to maintain social distance and avoid close contact.
Divisional and all Deputy Commissioners were asked to minimize, reduce or cancel all avoidable gatherings wherever possible in their respective jurisdictions, as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of infection.
Chief Secretary asked all Administrative Secretaries and other senior officers to conduct meetings/interactions over Video Conference so as to avoid large meetings wherever possible. Further, he also asked them to have such meetings, workshops and seminars also deferred in their subordinate departments/offices, as a precautionary step.
CS said that as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI each Department has its own role to play so that there are coordinated efforts to meet out the evolving coronavirus situation in the Union Territory.
Earlier, Financial Commissioner, Health, apprised the meeting about the present situation in this regard and preventive measures put in place to contain and manage the coronavirus infection.
He informed the meeting that highest level of alertness is being maintained through proper screening checks at the airports, where 100 percent declaration is being strictly made to be followed, while as health desks have been put in place at railway stations for awareness of travellers.
Random road checks at the two entry points at Lakhanpur in Kathua and Qazigund (Lower Munda) in Anantnag, are in place with a similar check post at Katra to ensure that people visiting the Shrine do not miss screening for history of travel, contact or symptoms.
FC Health, further informed that Coronavirus lab testing facilities have already been started at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar and Government Medical College, Jammu besides surveillance teams have been constituted across all districts to meet any kind of eventuality.
UT level Control Room has been established by NHM at Nagrota and Divisional Level Control Rooms also have been established which are functional 24X7. Besides, Deputy Commissioners have also set up such Control Rooms in their respective Districts, he added.
Details with regard to Isolation/Quarantine facilities and extensive Information, Education & Communication (IEC) campaign were also given out in the meeting.
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