Srinagar- As Jammu and Kashmir has recorded its first Covid-19 case since the outbreak of sub-variant JN.1, senior officials from major hospitals in Kashmir on Saturday allayed fears of coronavirus resurgence in the valley and emphasizing no need for alarm or panic.
Earlier, the Health Department had urged people to exercise caution and follow specific guidelines to stay safe, emphasizing Covid Appropriate Behavior or CAB.
Notably, India recorded 743 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total active caseload to 3,997, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a separate “variant of interest” given its rapidly increasing spread but said it poses a “low” global public health risk.
Kashmir Observer spoke to the health officials in various government hospitals in Srinagar to assess the ground reality and understand the level of preparedness to combat a potential resurgence of the coronavirus.
Medical Superintendent of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Dr. Farooq Jan, said that the Kashmir valley remains untouched by discussions about Covid-19 resurgence.
“From October to this day, a total of 16 patients have been admitted on the assumption of being positive, but most of them turned out to be negative. As of now, the situation is completely normal,” Dr. Jan said.
“In this part of India, there is no need to worry, and there are no indicators that the cases are rising here. So, there is no justification for unnecessarily wasting our resources. While there has been a resurgence in Kerala and elsewhere, in Kashmir, everything is normal,” Dr. Jan added.
Medical Superintendent of Chest Diseases (CD) Hospital, Srinagar, Dr. Saleem Tak, voiced similar views, saying that there is not a single covid-19 positive patient in the hospital. He, however, said that there is a substantial increase in common flu cases which is seasonal.
“Our hospital has been designated as a Coronavirus hospital for many years. At present, there is nothing to worry about, and there is no surge. If something of that sort happens, we are ready to deal with that scenario,” Dr. Tak said.
“The flu is seasonal in Kashmir and it is due to exposure that people fall ill. Covid-19 is a different phenomenon. As of now, we have not noticed any unusual activity,” Dr Muzaffar, Medical Superintendent Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital said.
The J&K administration on Wednesday had directed health department officials to activate Covid-19 testing facilities and conduct ample testing following the revised surveillance strategy.
Secretary Health and Medical Education (HME), Bhupinder Kumar also directed Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and head of the departments (HODs) to meticulously report influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases while adhering to recommended testing protocols.
He passed these directions while reviewing the Covid-19 situation and preparedness of the public health system across J&K particularly in light of the recent advisory issued by the Union Health Ministry concerning the emergence of a new variant, JN.1, an official spokesperson had said
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