NL CORRESPONDENT
Jammu Tawi, Apr 26: Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba today asked all States and Union Territories to fully utilize all available resources in combating coronavirus pandemic and to fine tune our strategy for coming days. Our focus should remain on saving the lives of people by providing them all possible healthcare facilities and ramping up capacities to the maximum level.
Gauba asked the states to enhance their testing and other capacities and containment efforts, and also to ensure effective surveillance and monitoring mechanism in place. He emphasised on creation of more isolation bed facilities to meet any kind of eventuality. Every district should have adequate number of isolation beds especially where cases are reported high, he added.
He said that lockdown implementations are to be enforced strongly and the States/UTs have the right to even go for tougher restrictions as per the local requirement.
Rajiv Gauba emphasized on ensuring social distancing norms are followed at all public places where activities have been allowed including banks and vegetable/fruit/foodgrain mandis stringently.
Besides, all the States/UTs were asked to resume non-covid health services. The Cabinet Secretary asked all Chief Secretaries to ensure that such services including immunization programme, maternity and critical care services are operational in their States and people do not face any kind of inconvenience in getting these services.
Chief Secretaries and DGPs were asked to ensure that there is no violence against medical professionals and frontline healthcare workers and appropriate actions is to be taken against such people. Besides, attack on police personals will not be tolerated anywhere, the Cabinet Secretary maintained.
Keeping in view the ongoing Ramazan festival, the Cabinet Secretary asked the Chief Secretaries to engage local community leaders to ensure that people do not come outside and offer prayer at their homes.
Apprizing the Cabinet Secretary about the present scenario in J&K, CS informed that there is surge in number of positive cases in Kashmir division only and every step is being taken for containment of virus as per the health protocol. He said that all red zones in J&K are being fully monitored and lockdown restrictions are implemented strictly in such containment zones.
Chief Secretary informed the Cabinet Secretary that the UT Government has started the process of bringing back our students and migrant labour stranded in different parts of the country in a very controlled manner.
