UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visits AMU, meets Vice Chancellor

Aligarh: The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Yogi Adityanath today visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and assured all possible help including required oxygen supply and Remdesivir injections to the Medical College Hospital. His visit reviewed the situation in Aligarh and other nearby districts.

The Chief Minister came to Aligarh to take stock of the situation, and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

He held a meeting with the officials of the university including the AMU Vice Chancellor Professor Tariq Mansoor; Mr Abdul Hamid (IPS), Registrar; Professor Shahid A Siddiqui (Principal, JNMC), Prof Rakesh Bhargava (Dean, Faculty of Medicine) and Professor Amjad Ali Rizvi (Officiating Medical Superintendent).

Vice Chancellor, Prof Mansoor said JNMC needs continuous oxygen supply and Remdesivir urgently. The Medical College staff comprising doctors, nurses and paramedical staff have been working relentlessly with exemplary dedication, and many of them contracted COVID in the line of duty while serving the patients. He saluted the JNMC doctors and staff for their sincerity and dedication.

Prof. Mansoor elaborated that while all efforts are being made to tackle the present second wave, we have to be prepared for a possible third wave that is estimated to affect children the most. Prof Mansoor said JNMC will work closely with the State and Union government to augment health infrastructure of JNMC and add to capacity in critical areas such as Pediatric ICUs, so as to provide better medical care to everyone, especially children. He said that the university has started telemedicine services and it will be strengthened further.

The Vice-Chancellor has been in touch with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The Vice-Chancellor thanked the Prime Minister, Union Education Minister, Chief Minister, and their offices for their support to the University in the time of COVID pandemic crisis.

The Vice-Chancellor and the University officials have been issuing regular advisories, through circulars, notifications, social media and other mediums urging the university fraternity to get vaccinated on priority.

Prof Mansoor further said that the university has sent samples for genome sequencing to the ICMR for investigating the possibility of a new mutant of virus.

Explaining the reasons for high mortality rate in the second wave, JNMC Hospital officials said that non-vaccination, comorbidity, and late admission to the medical college led to increase in deaths. This aside,unauthentic exaggerated COVID death figures were being circulated on social media and section of the media, including deaths due to non-Covid causes and those that occurred outside JNMC Hospital. Many retired faculty members who unfortunately passed away in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Bhopal and Meerut and the like were included in such lists.

The University stands by the bereaved families in this difficult hour.