In J&K’s containment plan: 100% lockdown, raising isolation facilities
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has laid out the strategy for the period following the 21-day lockdown that ends Tuesday.
The 19-point strategy governing the containment approach includes 100 per cent lockdown and screening in red zones, enhancing capacities for isolation, quarantine, and monitoring home quarantine, and constituting separate teams for contact tracing so that doctors can handle medical load.
The UT is also awaiting the Centre’s directions on continuing the lockdown.
However, areas designated as red zones —- localities with a significant number of cases or where there is suspicion of cluster transmission —- will see a 100-per cent lockdown and complete restriction on any movement across its boundaries. “This would require an intelligent demarcation of boundaries using roads, natural barriers, etc,” Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam said in a message to state officials, including Deputy Commissioners of all districts.
There are 55 red zones in Kashmir and 12 in Jammu.
The strategy directs 100 per cent survey and screening of all persons in the red zone, and people will be contacted periodically for rechecking for symptoms. In addition to the intensive testing being carried out across districts for all those with symptoms, there would be random sampling testing and the survey results would be geo-mapped.
“The only movement across the red zone boundaries would be for supplies —- medical, grocery, vegetables, medical emergencies, fumigation/sanitation, and enforcement/survey personnel. All entry and exit would be with red zone passes and proper fumigation of vehicles, safety of personnel and safety tunnels,” the document notes.
An internal presentation, prepared by the state unit of the National Health Mission, points out that “two-thirds of the state’s positive cases are asymptomatic” and attributes this to aggressive contact-tracing, tracking, testing and treating.
It notes that strict lockdown are to be enforced for Jammu and Srinagar districts since “Srinagar is currently a major hotspot and Jammu, in order to prevent it from becoming one”.
Currently, 80 per cent of cases are in Kashmir province, as per NHM’s state unit.
So far, as per the NHM report, all cases have been traced to contacts. 51 per cent of cases, as of Sunday, are linked to contacts of earlier positives including that of the Tablighi Jamaat; 14 per cent have been related to foreign travel; 23 per cent directly linked to Tablighi; 7 per cent to domestic travel; and 5 per cent with no travel history.
INDIAN EXPRESS
