India News | NC Asks Administration to Take Proactive Steps to Combat COVID-19 Spike in J-K

Jammu, Sep 12 (PTI) National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana on Saturday urged the administration to take proactive steps to combat the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union territory has so far recorded a virus caseload of 52,410, while the fatalities stand at 864 -- 721 in Kashmir and 143 in Jammu division.  

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"The government should take a proactive initiative to combat the spike and detail senior officers as empowered exclusive authorities to monitor, superintend and coordinate the functioning and management of healthcare infrastructure and facilities to ensure best possible treatment to infected patients," Rana said in a statement here.

He said that frontline workers are doing an exemplary job in fighting the virus at the peril of their own and families' lives but there are certain gaps which need to be bridged.

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"The shortage of oxygen and dysfunctional ventilators in hospitals that create bottlenecks in the treatment are a matter of grave concern," he said and also referred to complaints of unhygienic conditions prevailing in quarantine centres.

Urging the government to take immediate corrective steps, the NC leader said the shortage of supplies at this critical juncture is unacceptable and the health administration should wake up to the medical exigency and work out action plans keeping in view the requirements on a day-to-day and even an hour-to-hour basis.

"For this empowered authorities are also needed at divisional and district levels, which should be charged exclusively with the responsibility of coordinating every nitty gritty of the COVID-19 management," he said.

He said the private hospitals and nursing homes should also be roped in to supplement the efforts in containing the infection. "In fact, these healthcare facilities should volunteer services for the service of mankind," he said.

Rana urged the people to cooperate with the administration at all levels for successful implementation of guidelines and standing operating procedures devised by various agencies.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)