Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba today asked all States and Union Territories to fully utilize all available resources in combatting coronavirus pandemic and to fine tune our strategy for coming days. Our focus should remain on saving the lives of people by providing them all possible healthcare facilities and ramping up capacities to the maximum level.Cabinet Secretary was chairing a meeting with Chief Secretaries through video conference to discuss the preparedness of all States and UTs with regard to containment of the virus keeping in view the overall situation emerged in the country due to coronavirus outbreak.Member Niti Aayog, Dr Vinod K. Paul, Health Secretary, Preeti Sudan, Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla and other senior officers attended the meeting.Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam, DGP J&K, Dilbag Singh, Financial Commissioner, Health, Atal Dulloo, Principal Secretary Planning & Information, Rohit Kansal, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjiv Verma and MD NHM, Bhupinder Kumar participated in the interaction with the Cabinet Secretary.While discussing the present situation and what needs to be done in the coming days to fight with COVID-19, the Cabinet Secretary said that there is significant improvement shown by various health indicators and parameters because of our advance preparedness and we should continue with whatever we have been doing by putting in more serious efforts.“Many States have enhanced their testing and other capacities and are doing well in containment efforts. Similar approach has to be adopted by all along with having effective surveillance and monitoring mechanism in place”, the Cabinet Secretary said adding that vigil has to increase many folds in the coming time to deal with the virus. Referring to the resumption of some economic activities permitted by Government of India recently, the Cabinet Secretary asked all for following the revised guidelines and to act accordingly. He said that lockdown implementations are to be enforced strongly and the States/UTs have the right to even go for tougher restrictions as per the local requirement.
Rajiv Gauba emphasized on ensuring social distancing norms are followed at all public places where activities have been allowed including banks and vegetable/fruit/foodgrain mandis. He said that saving lives of people should be our priority and for this we need to take some stringent actions if required.With regard to preparedness of the States/UTs in terms of creation of isolation bed facilities, it was directed that more such beds be added on by all to meet any kind of eventuality. Every district should have adequate number of isolation beds especially where cases are reported high, he added.Besides, all the States/UTs were asked to resume non covid health services. The Cabinet Secretary asked all Chief Secretaries to ensure that such services including immunization programme, maternity and critical care services are operational in their States and people do not face any kind of inconvenience in getting these services. Chief Secretaries and DGPs were asked to ensure that there is no violence against medical professionals and frontline healthcare workers and appropriate actions is to be taken against such people. Besides, attack on police personals will not be tolerated anywhere, the Cabinet Secretary maintained.Keeping in view the ongoing Ramazan festival, the Cabinet Secretary asked the Chief Secretaries to engage local community leaders to ensure that people do not come outside and offer prayer at their homes.Apprizing the Cabinet Secretary about the present covid scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and the ongoing efforts to control the spread of virus in entire UT, Chief Secretary informed that there is surge in number of positive cases in Kashmir division only and every step is being taken for containment of virus as per the health protocol. He said that all red zones in J&K are being fully monitored and lockdown restrictions are implemented strictly in such containment zones.Chief Secretary informed the Cabinet Secretary that the UT Government has started the process of bringing back our students and migrant labour stranded in different parts of the country in a very controlled manner.