Of 1 lakh returnees in J&K, nearly 800 test positive for Covid-19 since May 1
The UT has been conducting 7,000 to 8,000 tests per day in eight labs
Of the nearly 1 lakh returnees to Jammu and Kashmir, over 800 have tested positive for coronavirus since May 1, said Bhupinder Kumar, nodal officer of the Union territory on Friday.
The administration had made Covid-19 testing mandatory for those returning to the Union territory which has helped combat the spread of the infection, the official said.
Principal secretary, information, and government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said that the J&K administration has been able to combat the pandemic in better ways than some of the bigger and resourceful states.
“In order to control the spread of the disease, the administration had intensified testing and despite constraints, it provided better facilities in the shortest possible time,” he said.
The principal secretary added that the administration got its labs accredited, roped in other hospitals, entered into an agreement with ICMR accredited private labs and also went ahead with pool testing to maximise its capacity.
“We also accorded attention to robust contact tracing and aggressive testing that included red zones and containment areas,” he said.
“When the stranded residents started returning in the UT, we made Covid-19 testing mandatory for all. It helped us detect and isolate positive patients. Given that most of them were asymptomatic, had they not been tested they would have continued undetected and potentially infected a large number of people,” said Kansal.
The UT has been conducting 7,000 to 8,000 tests per day in eight labs, probably highest in the country.
These labs are located in SKIMS, GMC Srinagar and Jammu, Command Hospital Udhampur, IIIM lab in Jammu, SKIMSJV college in Bemina, and two ICMR approved private labs.
Till Thursday, a total of 2,036 positive cases were reported. Of this 859 have been cured and 1150 are active cases. The UT has reported 27 Covid-19 deaths so far.
