In view of the emerging Covid-19 situation in J&K, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Nitishwar Kumar today chaired a meeting of all Deputy Commissioners through virtual mode and reviewed the mechanism put in place in the Districts for addressing the situation.During the meeting, the Principal Secretary sought the latest status from the concerned Deputy Commissioners regarding the installation of Oxygen Generation Plants across the UT and passed strict directions for installation of the same in the shortest possible time, wherever pending.He also took stock of the number of beds available in Covid Health Centres, Covid Care Centres and Hospitals in each District and directed them to augment the same.Emphasizing on developing quick response system in all Districts, the Principal Secretary enquired about functioning of Covid Control Rooms, besides execution of incoming calls and handling of Covid related queries.The Deputy Commissioners apprised the Principal Secretary about the status of installation of Oxygen Generation Plants. It was informed that civil works for most of the plants have been completed and the same would be made functional at the earliest besides, test run in some of the installed oxygen generation plants are also being done after which they will be made functional to their designated capacity.It was further informed that the Covid Control Rooms are operating 24×7 helplines for providing necessary assistance to public and keeping a check on people in Home isolation in all the Districts of the UT.While directing to ensure speedy installation of oxygen plants in the hospitals, the Principal Secretary asked the Deputy Commissioners to closely monitor the works and use the option of employing multiple teams and night shifts wherever necessary.The Principal Secretary asked the Divisional Commissioners to closely monitor the overall situation and ensure the provision of logistics and equipment required at the District hospitals in both regions.He also instructed the Divisional Commissioners to keep a strict check on the black marketing of oxygen cylinders and deploy Magistrates and concerned staff to cross check the supply of oxygen cylinders reaching their destinations from the source industrial plants.The Principal Secretary, while seeking the details of bed capacity in different government hospitals across the UT, directed the Deputy Commissioners to ramp up the numbers of beds with oxygen support system.The Principal Secretary further issued directions to all Deputy Commissioners to ensure strict adherence to Covid SOPs and enforcement of ceiling on the number of people allowed in congregations and functions in their respective districts. He advised them to ensure that people provide a prior intimation of the functions to the respective Tehsildars and receive a receipt of the same.Keeping in view the surge in the Covid cases, directions were also passed to declare new micro containment zones for mitigating the spread of corona virus.Develop a suitable mechanism by monitoring situations in the district hospitals and use an effective referral policy so as to avoid the possibility of sudden load of Covid cases in Level 1 tertiary care Covid Hospitals in Jammu and Srinagar, the Principal Secretary advised the Deputy Commissioners.The Principal Secretary asked the Deputy Commissioner to take onboard the religious leaders in their districts in motivating people to adopt covid appropriate behaviour and minimize public gatherings.He also directed the Deputy Commissioners for intensifying the vaccination drive in the age-appropriate categories and to deploy robust testing and contact tracing methods for mitigating the spread of the deadly virus.Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir Divisions, besides Superintendent Engineers of concerned departments were also present during the meeting.
