United News of India
Srinagar, May 31: Alarmed by the number of COVID-19 cases among J&K residents, who have returned from outside the Union Territory (UT), a senior doctor on Sunday said that returnees should be tested before allowing them to come here by any mode of transportation.
Of the total 2341 COVID-19 cases so far detected in the UT, 1056 are the people who have returned to J&K from other states and abroad.
“Seeing the travellers who test positive for Covid-19, we should get travellers getting into our UT tested outside before they enter… be it air or road travel,” Superintendent of Chest Diseases Hospital Srinagar, Dr Naveed Shah wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.
The stranded practice adopted by the administration is to test people for COVID-19 after they arrive in the UT and shift them to isolation centres if the results are positive.
Meanwhile, asserting that 53 per cent of the total active cases in this summer capital are travelers who have returned from outside, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said it has to be a ‘cautious June’ for everyone.
He said cooperation of a total of 10,000 returnees and massive efforts by frontline workers ensured intensive testing and left none unnoticed in Srinagar.
“About 1 lakh returning home in J&K, almost 10 per cent arrived in Srinagar. Their cooperation & massive efforts of our colleagues ensured intensive testing, leaving none unnoticed,” he said.
The Srinagar DC said flights from Muscat, Dubai, Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh with over 3000 returnees arrived at Srinagar Airport in last 5 days and went home after testing negative. “Paid Quarantine starts Rs 400 per day. Government facilities opted by 52 per cent air travelers,” he added.