2 +ve patients recover in Ladakh
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Mar 24: J&K Government today decided to suspend OPD services in Government Medical College and Associated Hospitals (GMC&AH), Jammu and Emergency as well as IPD services in Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar (Jammu) to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and to optimize diversion of available manpower and material resource for the care and treatment of suspected/confirmed patients of COVID-19.
“Pursuant to existing COVID-19 situation and to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, optimize diversion of available manpower and material resources for the care and treatment of suspected or confirmed patients of COVID-19 diseases, it was decided that the OPD services at GMC and its associated hospitals shall remain suspended with effect from March 25 till further orders,” said an order issued today by Dr Sunanda Raina, Principal and Dean, GMC Jammu.
However, the emergency services shall continue as usual, Dr Raina said in the order and appealed the general public of Jammu Division to stop visits to OPD at GMC and its associated hospitals and consult telephonically for their ailments from the list of doctors available on the website www.gmcjammu.nic.in of GMC Jammu.
“The telephone consultation time shall remain within 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. The doctor attending the telephonic OPD shall follow all medical code of ethics and prescribe drugs in generic name with preservation of possible record of each telephonically consultation,” she said.
Dr Raina also directed all the Heads of Departments to furnish her office telephonic duty roster of consultant with their phone numbers to provide mandatory telephonic consultation services during OPD hours but made it clear that telephonic OPD services shall not be valid for medico legal purposes.
Meanwhile to convert Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar into COVID-19 Hospital, the Administration of the Hospital today closed Emergency and IPD activities in the Hospital. “Emergency and IPD activities in the hospital are closed with immediate effect,” said an order issued by Dr LD Bhagat, Medical Superintendent, Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar (Jammu). It, however, added that the OPD services shall continue in the OPD complex of the Hospital.
Official sources told Excelsior that the wards of the Gandhi Nagar Hospital are being sanitized properly and beds are being arranged as per the guidelines issued by the authorities to shift Coronavirus suspects/positive patients if the number rises in the near future. They further informed that the beds are also being laid in new Maternity Block constructed in the premises of Gandhi Nagar Hospital as authorities have also decided to dedicate it fully for COVID-19 patients.
Sources further said that a Registrar (General Surgery) of GMC Jammu was last night shifted in Isolation Ward of the Hospital after Coronavirus symptoms (throat pain and breathing problems) developed in him. However, he was discharged from there and shifted to another separate room of the Hospital this evening after he tested negative for the dreaded virus. The doctor will be now tested for Influenza and provided treatment accordingly, they added.
Meanwhile, Resident Doctors Association (RDA), GMC Jammu in a letter addressed today to Principal, GMC Jammu made an appeal to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Sanitizers for resident doctors as well as staff employed in Emergency Unit of the Hospital, saying that if one doctor is infected for the dreaded virus, he will transmit the virus into hundreds of persons besides their family members and colleagues.
In the meantime, J&K Government in its Media Bulletin on COVID-19 informed that 4765 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance and, so far, only six cases have tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir and one among them has already recovered.
As per the Bulletin, 2928 persons have been kept under home quarantine, 71 in hospital quarantine and 1268 are under home surveillance while as 498 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period. The Bulletin further said that 279 samples have been sent for testing out of which 253 tested as negative while as 20 reports are awaited. “Only six persons have tested positive so far and out of them only five are active positive and one patient has recovered,” it added.
Sources, meanwhile, informed that authorities in Rajouri district have identified about 430 persons who have travel history of foreign country/returned from any other state of India recently and they are being quarantined in home or in 100-bedded quarantine facility setup by the district administration at Pahari Hostel, Rajouri, where 54 persons are already under observation.
In the Union Territory of Ladakh, two COVID-19 positive patients were discharged today from the hospital after they recovered while as no fresh case was reported in last five days.
Disclosing this, Commissioner Secretary (Health) Rigzin Samphel, said both the cured patients have been moved to a quarantine facility and will remain under surveillance. “Technically, now we have only 11 COVID-19 positive cases from the earlier 13 cases,” Samphel told reporters. He said the condition of all the 11 patients is stable.
He further informed that the test reports of 18 samples (15 from Kargil and three from Leh) — were received today from Delhi and all of them were negative.
Later, Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor (CEC), LAHDC, Kargil Feroz Ahmad Khan and Deputy Commissioner and CEO, LAHDC, Kargil Baseer ul Haq Choudhary, in a joint press conference held at Tourist Facilitation Centre Kargil told reporters about the necessary measures being carried out by the LAHDC and district administration Kargil to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the district.
They said that all necessary arrangements have been put in place to contain the spread of the deadly virus including the setting up of 130-bedded quarantine and 50-bedded isolation facilities at Government Polytechnic and GNM Nursing Hostel Kurbathang with fully equipped 24×7 services.
It was further revealed that quarantine centres have also been set up in all the 7 Medical Blocks of the district while additional quarantine facilities are also being set up in private hotels and resorts to carry out the mandatory quarantine of local travelers and students coming from Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi and other parts of the country as per the set guidelines.
Regarding evacuation of the stranded pilgrims from Iran, the CEC Kargil said that they are being given proper medical treatment in Iran and would be brought back to the district after the completion of medical care and proper quarantine period at Ghaziabad, Jaisalmer and other designated locations in the country.
Panic buying by people
As soon as Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation announced 21-day nationwide lockdown with effect from 12 midnight tonight, people of Jammu rushed to the grocery/fruits/vegetables shops in their vicinity to purchase essential commodities.
People rushed to streets in panic to purchase grocery items, vegetables, medicines, etc and beelined before a few shops that were opened to stock up essential items. They forget all advisories of social distancing and started converging around shops to make purchases even after PM’s appeal to refrain from ‘panic-buying’.
There was a complete chaos in front of the shops and people were seen waiting for their turn even on petrol pumps, medicine shops, grocery shops and shops of other essential commodities. In some areas, cops on duty were seen controlling the crowd and telling them there is no need to panic-buying but nobody was ready to listen.
Similar reports of panic buying were also received from major towns of other districts of Jammu province including Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Reasi, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, etc where people queued up outside grocery shops and chemist shops to stock some essential items like flour, pulses, oil and medicines.
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