CISF cop, 2 brothers among 14 test Corona +ve
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 22: As Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh today spoke to Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on the death of a person in quarantine centre at Kathua yesterday, the UT Government might modify the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on quarantine especially for patients who were on medication.
Sources told the Excelsior that Dr Jitendra Singh spoke to the Lieutenant Governor and called for certain modifications in the quarantine SOP so that patients and those testing negative for COVID-19 are sent for home quarantine immediately instead of being kept in the Government buildings for administrative quarantine especially at a time when the summer is at its peak.
“Spoke to LG Jammu and Kashmir GC Murmu regarding the death of a person in quarantine centre at Kathua. Guidelines being immediately modified, keeping in view the severe heat conditions, so that no person is held back from going home at the earliest,” Dr Jitendra Singh wrote on twitter.
He said the Union Home Ministry is also of the view that a person should be sent on home quarantine after testing negative for the virus once.
According to sources, the UT Government might modify the SOP to facilitate home quarantine for the patients returning from outside Jammu and Kashmir who are on medication and those testing negative at the quarantine centres might be allowed to go home even if some other inmates test positive there after taking their samples.
However, no modification order has been issued by the UT Government till tonight.
As per the SOP, the persons testing negative at the quarantine centres are not allowed to go for home quarantine if even a single person at the same centre tests positive. All of them are re-sampled and had to wait for negative report again before going home.
Same thing happened with 47-year-old Kamal Kumar of Hiranagar, who had tested negative for COVID-19 but was not allowed to go home as three persons at the quarantine centre had tested positive. He had been re-sampled and till his second report came negative last evening, he had already died in the centre.
Kumar was suffering from liver ailment but was denied home quarantine and forced to go for administrative quarantine for more than a week, leading to his death. He had valid medical prescriptions of Mumbai from where he had returned which showed he was suffering from liver ailment but still he was lodged in administrative quarantine.
District Magistrate Kathua OP Bhagat had yesterday ordered magisterial inquiry into the killing.
Prior to him, two persons had died at Sidhra cremation ground during last rites of their uncle who had died due to Coronavirus in Jammu.
Meanwhile, 14 persons including a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan and two brothers today tested Corona positive in Jammu region.
One person has tested positive for the virus in Jammu district who happens to be a 56-year-old man from Marh block.
Five persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Poonch district including two brothers, aged 42 and 46, both residents of Sabjian, who had returned from Mumbai, a 25-year-old youth from Bandichechian, another 23-year-old from Salonia Mandi with travel history of New Delhi and 27-year-old from Arai Mandi, a returnee from Kuwait.
An 18-year-old shopkeeper hailing from Baramulla but presently putting up at Khoon Majalata in Udhampur district tested positive for the virus today, sources said, adding that a 27-year-old woman from village Gajoth in Bhaderwah tehsil of Doda district has also tested Corona positive.
Three persons were reported positive for COVID in Reasi district.
They included a 28-year-old CISF jawan of Pouni with travel history of New Delhi, a 34-year-old employee of a religious channel from New Delhi, who was under administrative quarantine at Katra and 20-year-old worker from Chassana.
Two persons tested positive in Kathua district. Both of them were migrant workers and under administrative quarantine.
A returnee tested Corona positive in Rajouri. He hailed from Nowshera.
Ramban, Samba and Kishtwar districts didn’t report any Coronavirus case today.
Meanwhile, 45 Coronavirus patients were today treated and discharged from various COVID Hospitals.
They include 11 each from Jammu and Poonch districts, eight Doda, six Kathua, five Kishtwar and four Udhampur.
As per official figures, Jammu region now has 1376 Corona cases. Of them, 544 were active. There have been 822 recoveries and 10 deaths in the region.
The Union Territory of Ladakh today reported 10 COVID cases taking tally of Corona cases in the region to 847.
Of 10 new cases, eight belonged to Leh district and two to Kargil.
Ladakh now has 710 active cases, 153 in Leh and 557 in Kargil. A total of 136 patients have been treated and discharged including 68 in each in the two districts. There has been one Corona casualty in Leh.
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