Chief Secretary reviews arrangements to mitigate COVID- 19 pandemic

Jammu: The Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam today chaired a meeting to take stock of continued efforts towards mitigating COVID-19 pandemic and the related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and policies.

Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Education, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Deputy Commissioners of Jammu, Udhampur, Reasi, Samba and Kathua, and Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM) participated in the meeting.

In view of the expected resumption of railways services, arrangements to conduct Rapid Antigen Test on all incoming passengers were reviewed and directions were issued to ramp up the testing capacities at all arrival points including railway stations at Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, and Katra.

The Chief Secretary also took stock of the manpower requirement at railway stations to ensure universal testing of all the passengers, besides providing assistance with regard to various COVID related SOPs and policies once the passengers get tested which include- providing medical assistance to the symptomatic positives, sending asymptomatic positives to home isolation after providing them with oxymeters, and their registration on the Arogya Setu app. “As per past practice, efforts should be afoot to prevent unchecked mixing of infected travellers with the local populace and a subsequent spread of the disease”, he said.

Informing that a COVID vaccine is expected to be available soon, the Chief Secretary underscored the need to maintain efficient coordination between various implementing agencies viz. District Administration, Police, ULBs, PRIs and Health Department for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.