Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan today conducted an extensive tour of Udhampur district and chaired a meeting to review the working of health department and other essential services in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic situation. The meeting was informed that till date 20 positive cases were found in Udhampur and among them, 11 are active positive, one has died and 08 have recovered. Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur Dr. Piyush Singla and officials of district administration, Police, Health and other allied departments were present in the meeting.During the meeting, Advisor Khan also enquired about the status of ration distribution system during lockdown across the district. The meeting was informed that the District Administration has identified and provided ration to 5279 families of labourers, migrants and destitute in addition of regular ration cardholders. The District Administration has also established community kitchens in the district for providing cooked food to needy, migrant labourers, destitute and stranded truck drivers. Over 6000 cooked meals packed and distributed among the poor and needy at different locations. Advisor Khan said that some people facing hardships due to lock down might be hesitating to come forward for seeking any help and the district administration should identify such people with the help of elected representatives in order to provide relief to them.Later, Advisor Khan visited designated quarantine centres to take stock of preparedness to combat the spread of Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic in the district. During his visit, the Advisor took a detailed review of all the preparedness and available infrastructure in designated quarantine centres and health institutions for dealing with Corona virus patients. Designated officers were asked to ensure adequate arrangements in these Quarantine Centres as per SOPs.
The Advisor was informed that nine quarantine centres have been established in the district with maximum capacity of about 1300 beds and 203 persons have been put under administrative quarantine and 140 under home quarantine. Besides 838 persons are under surveillance and 1498 persons have completed their surveillance period. Furthermore 744 persons who visited from other districts have completed their administrative quarantine period so far.While reviewing the working of designated quarantine centres in the district, Advisor Khan said all requisite facilities at these centres should be ensured. He asked health department to strictly follow the SOPs prescribed by the WHO and Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with regard to these facilities. He said that testing of COVID- 19 patients from Doda and Ramban should be done in Udhampur. He stressed on the involvement of PRIs for combating spread of COVID-19 infection and contact tracing.Advisor Khan directed the officers to put in their best efforts to prevent the spread of virus and asked them to intensify efforts to find anyone who might have come in contact with the suspected cases. The Advisor also interacted with the quarantined persons and enquired about their well-being and facilities being provided to them. He further asked the concerned authorities to assure proper care and hygiene besides maintaining social distancing within the premises as per standard operating procedures in place to deal with COVID-19 cases.The Advisor also appreciated the overwhelming response of the people of Udhampur to the call of lockdown by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break the chain of coronavirus infection and measures taken by district administration with regard to prevention of the COVID-19 outbreak.The Advisor also interacted with President MC Udhampur representatives of Beopar Mandal, Doctors and frontline warriors. He appreciated the role being played by District Administration, Doctors, frontline works of health, Police and Safai Karamcharis during the pandemic crisis.