J&K’s testing rate is best in country after Kerala

JAMMU: With four testing labs and 77.5 per million tests, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday said it has been trying hard to contain the spread of coronavirus across the Union territory.

TIll now, the valley has reported 70 Covid-19 cases—53 in Kashmir and 17 in the Jammu region.

Principal Secretary of planning department and administration spokesperson Rohit Kansal said, “We have a three-pronged strategy, which is robust tracing, strict quarantine and aggressive testing”.

“Due to this strategy, we have been able to trace many positive cases that were asymptomatic. Had they been not traced they would have infected others as well. So, this is the strength of our tracing mechanism. We are going after every single contact of positive cases,” added Kansal.

He further said, “Our testing rate has been nearly 77.5 per million, one of the highest in the country after Kerala. We have decided to further increase it. To begin with, we plan to test every single one of the 2000 contacts that we have identified,” he said.

Rohit added that J&K was among one of the first UT in the country, which has four testing labs. “And, now we are thinking to further increase the testing capacity,” he said.

A senior official of the health department said a control room to combat Covid-19 across J&K has been set up in the office of the director of national health mission in Nagrota, near Jammu.

“We are tracking suspected cases through different modes but contact tracing is our top priority. Then, a slew of measures like cordoning off 300-metre area and hotspots are being sealed. Suspect’s travel history is ascertained to know if they have travelled abroad or to infected areas. In a nutshell, basically whatever is required to contain the spread is being done by the administration,” he said.

The official said that over 1,000 tests have been conducted so far.

“We are one of the first states/ UTs, which has four testing labs in government sector. One private lab is being authorised by the ICMR,” he informed. The official claimed that in the process of tracing and testing suspected cases, some of the protocols of J&K were stricter than other states.

The administration has set up 11 exclusive Covid-19 hospitals—8 in Srinagar and three in Jammu.

Our testing rate has been nearly 77.5 per million, one of the highest in the country after Kerala. We have decided to further increase it.

ROHIT KANSAL, Principal Secretary of planning department