Srinagar, Apr 19: Authorities in Kashmir have directed healthcare workers to ensure proper analysis of every COVID-19 patient including details about family or health conditions while contact tracing, officials said.
Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole gave the directions while supervising the online contact tracing, sampling and other guidelines for COVID-19 patients on Saturday.
Pole directed analysis should include details about patient’s family, neighbours, relatives, daily routine, if having co-morbidity like diabetes, cardiac condition or is on dialysis or has any other health condition, is a smoker or smokes hookah” and other related information, the officials said.
The total number of positive cases in the union territory has risen to 341. Five patients have died in Jammu and Kashmir and 51 have recovered.
More than 60,000 people have been kept under surveillance including those who are either in government established quarantine facilities or in home isolation.
Till date 60419 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance which include 6071 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 285 in hospital isolation, 252 in hospital quarantine and 25692 under home surveillance. Besides, 28114 persons have completed their surveillance period, the officials said.
They said the security forces have sealed off main roads in most places in the valley and erected barriers at several other places to check the unwanted movement of the people and to enforce the lock down.
Only persons with valid movement passes were allowed passage, they added.
The declared containment or red zones across the valley have been sealed to ensure strict adherence to the standard operating procedure.
The officials said there were 80 red zones in the Kashmir valley and all such areas would remain as red zones up to 42 days, unless no new positive case of COVID-19 is detected.
The markets across the valley were shut and public transport was off the roads with only pharmacies and groceries allowed to open, the officials said.
Educational institutions across Kashmir are closed, while all public places including gymnasiums, parks, clubs and restaurants were shut down more than a week before the nationwide lock down announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the prime minister announced the country-wide lockdown on the evening of March 24, the union territory administration here had on March 22 announced a lockdown across Jammu and Kashmir till 31 March as part of its efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Restrictions were first imposed in many parts of the valley on March 19 to contain the spread of the virus infection. The measures were taken after the detection of the first positive case of coronavirus in the valley.
(PTI)
