Nearly 2,000 contacts identified in J&K: Official

The Jammu and Kashmir administration said on Wednesday that nearly 2,000 contacts of positive cases had been identified and all of them would be subjected to testing.

Talking to reporters, official spokesperson Rohit Kansal said many of the positive cases could be traced as due to a "vigorous" contact tracing exercise.

"Nearly 2,000 contacts of positive cases have been identified. We have issued instructions that no known contact be left untraced," Kansal said.

"Hotspots will be have to be isolated and sealed, and movements fully restricted," the official said, appealing to the people for cooperation.

"Believe me, it's worth the trouble and effort. Every single case detected and traced means so many more have been prevented from being infected," Kansal added.

According to the spokesperson, the testing rate in Jammu and Kashmir had been nearly 77.5 per 10 lakh, one of the highest in the country and next only to Kerala.

"We have decided to increase it. To begin with, we plan to test every single one of the 2,000 contacts that we have identified," he said.

Kansal reiterated that there were 11 exclusive COVID-19 hospitals, an administrative quarantine facility of over 35,000 beds and 2,400 earmarked treatment beds in Jammu and Kashmir to deal with any kind of situation.

He added that that the Health Department had also started upgrading its manpower and equipment.

The department has started reengaging retired professionals, consultants and will use every possible mechanism to ensure that there is no shortage of manpower. It is also procuring all essential material, including masks, personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators, Kansal said.

A facilitation centre and a control room have been set up at Lakhanpur for facilitating movement of trucks carrying essential supplies, he said.

The official added that the lieutenant governor had directed the department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department to create stocks of masks and sanitisers for distribution among the various public servants on duty and all residents of areas identified as hotspots or red spots.

"We have accordingly placed orders for nearly four-lakh masks and 1.60 lakh sanitisers. We have already distributed 90,000 masks and 6,000 sanitisers to various essential service departments," Kansal said.