Srinagar:  Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, P K Pole issued order for deffering of elective, routine surgeries in Govt & Private Health institutions till further orders in view of Covid Pandemic in Kashmir Division.

It stated that  the prevailing situation  demands optimal utilization of available resources so that existing infrastructure and healthcare are not over stretched to the hilt.

The order said that the main focus of healthcare system at this juncture is management of covid-19 positive cases and majority of resources of health care  at present have  been diverted to covid-19 management.

‘It is hereby ordered, in view of these facts and till further orders, all elective and routine surgeries in Government and Private health institutions are deferred unless there are pressing and dire medical exigencies and benefits of such procedures outweigh risk related to covid 19 situation and its fallout’, order stated.

However, emergency services, critical care required for co-morbid patients, dialysis patients, Once Surgeries and MCH services shall continue as usual.

The Districts Magistrates, District Disaster Management Authorities, CMOs of concerned districts shall conduct random inspections and audits of  health care institutions to enforce the compliance of this order under the extent rules with in their jurisdiction.

The order shall be reviewed periodically based on the evolving Covid 19 Situation.

New Delhi: India recorded the highest single-day COVID-19 infections and deaths with 4,12,262 people testing positive and 3,980 patients losing their lives in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative figures to 2,10,77,410 and 23,01,68, respectively, Health Ministry data showed on Thursday.

A total of patients infected with the novel coronavirus were 3,29,113 discharged during the same time period, pushing the total recoveries to 1,72,80,844. India has a total of 35,66,398 active cases at the moment.

The northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab registered their highest Covid-19 deaths with the most populous state recording the biggest single-day jump of 357 Covid-19 deaths that took the toll to 14,151 while it registered 31,165 fresh cases. Lucknow and Kanpur registered the highest deaths in the state.

Punjab on Wednesday saw another record 182 fatalities, bringing the toll to 9,825, while 8,015 fresh infections, the biggest single-day spike, took the tally to 4,07,509, according to a medical bulletin. The number of active cases rose from 61,935 on Tuesday to 63,007 Wednesday.

Twelve states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, have more than 1 lakh active COVID-19 cases, according to the government. Thirty districts are showing a continued rise in the number of coronavirus cases for the last two weeks. Ten of these districts are in Kerala, seven in Andhra Pradesh, three in Karnataka and one in Tamil Nadu, it said.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far stands at 16,24,30,828, the health ministry said. It said 2,30,305 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group received the first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday across 12 states and Union territories. The total number of people in this age group who have been inoculated against the viral disease stands at 9,02,731, the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister Wednesday said a third wave of Covid-19 was inevitable given the high levels of the circulating virus and that they couldn’t predict a time frame for it. Dr K V Vijay Raghavan also admitted that experts had not anticipated the “ferocity” of the second wave currently sweeping the country. The Centre also said that the “surge in cases seen over the last one and a half month in some states” shows a “correlation with the rise in (presence) B.1.617.” However, the Centre added a key caveat: the epidemiological and clinical correlation of B.1.617 and the surge is not “fully established”.

LG chairs meetings with senior doctors, CMOs, DCs

Jammu:  Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Thursday directed for increasing the additional 1325 bed capacity with oxygen support in Jammu Division within five days which will complement the Government’s efforts for strengthening and improving the health infrastructure, especially the Covid-19 treatment facilities in the region.

The Lt Governor was chairing a meeting to review the evolving Covid situation and containment measures taken thereof, in which, Senior Doctors, Health officials, Chief Medical Officers and Deputy Commissioners of Jammu Division participated, in person and through virtual mode.

While taking district-wise review of the Covid scenario, the Lt Governor enquired about the number of Covid dedicated beds in the GMCs and private hospitals, and directed the concerned Principals and Directors of private hospitals including ASCOMS and SMVD Narayana Hospital to augment the bed capacity with oxygen support system.

The Lt Governor stressed on accelerating the work to meet the increasing demand for healthcare facilities at City, District Hospitals & Community Health Centres.

Underlining the importance of putting in place a comprehensive patient-care mechanism, the Lt Governor said that Doctors are best trained to handle the situation and asked the senior Doctors to reach out to every patient admitted in the hospitals and effectively utilize their experience for better patient-care.

Devote yourself wholeheartedly in serving the people and providing quality medicare to Covid patients, the Lt Governor urged the  Doctors.

CMOs were instructed to actively involve themselves in covid care management in their respective health institutions.

The meeting discussed the availability of Covid dedicated beds in tertiary care Covid hospitals, and District Hospitals, status of Oxygen Generation plants that are installed in GMCs, besides increasing the number of Covid dedicated beds, and facilitating the adequate availability of oxygen supply in health institutions.

The meeting was informed that Oxygen Generation Plants at Rajouri, Reasi and Samba are already functional and additional capacity would be added to GMC Jammu that will cater to the requirement of oxygen, besides helping in enhancing the bed capacity with oxygen support.

It was further informed that Oxygen Plants at Kathua and Doda will be made functional soon.

Terming increased testing and vaccination as imperative in combating Covid-19 pandemic, the Lt Governor directed the concerned officers to ensure rigorous testing and contact tracing, besides intensifying the vaccination drive to saturate the inoculation of the targeted population with the dose of Covid vaccine.

Testing and Vaccination should be priority. Streamline the process and enable more individuals to get tested and vaccinated faster, the Lt Governor instructed DCs & CMOs.

He further directed for effective implementation of restrictions in micro-containment zones to control the spread of the deadly virus.

Emphasizing on optimal utilization of medical staff in peripheral hospitals, the Lt Governor directed the CMOs for rationalizing doctors and paramedical staff for duties in Covid care hospitals on rotation basis.

The Principals and Heads of Medical College Hospitals were directed to ensure strict compliance of Hospital referral policy, besides ensuring triaging.

The Lt Governor further directed the concerned officers to ensure availability of doctors for consultation through online mode also, in all the districts.

Laying special emphasis on continued and collaborative efforts at all levels of the administration in the fight against Covid-19, the Lt Governor asked the officers to formulate an effective rapid response mechanism so that proactive steps can be taken to deal with the emerging situation.

The Lt Governor asked the DCs to engage PRIs in Covid management and formulate small Covid management groups to facilitate the Covid containment measures.

The Lt Governor advised the Principals and CMOs to employ retired Doctors and paramedical staff in Covid management services. Hire interns and final year medical students to increase the manpower in health sector, he added.

Taking cognizance of the media reports regarding Coivd-19 management in the hospitals across the UT, the Lt Governor directed the concerned functionaries to ensure that doctors are available at the hospitals and every individual seeking medicare is attended with full dedication.

Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance Department;  Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education;  Shailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Government, Public Works (R&B) Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Ranjan Prakash Thakur, Principal Secretary to the Government, Industries & Commerce; Dr. Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Choudhary Mohammad Yasin, Mission Director, NHM and HoDs of various departments, besides Health officials attended the meeting, in person and through virtual mode.

• Rationalize medical staff in peripheral hospitals

• Directs Health functionaries to monitor on-ground situation

Economic package for business, industry revival

Relief provided to 3.44 lakh borrowers in current Covid-19 crisis

Jammu:  Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Thursday approved the further release of Rs 250 crore as Interest Subvention, part of economic package for revival of business and industry in J&K, and handed over a cheque of the said amount to Jammu and Kashmir Bank as third instalment of the 5% Interest Subvention.

Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance Department and RK Chhibber, Chairman and MD J&K Bank were present on the occasion.

Government of J&K had already released Rs 500 crore so far, and today another instalment of Rs 250 crore as 5% Interest Subvention was released as part of the overall package of Rs 1353 crore. The Interest Subvention has so far provided immense relief to 3.44 lakh borrowers in the current Covid-19 crisis.

The J&K government had announced a mega Relief and Revival Package of Rs 1353 crore on September 19th, 2020 to help J&K business sector to tide over the Covid-19 crisis and other difficulties.

The business revival package involved relief measures, both financial and non-financial, aimed primarily at the sectors which had been most affected by the ongoing situation so as to achieve sustainable and continued growth.

The Lt Governor observed that the core component of the package was Rs 950 crore as 5% Interest Subvention to all borrowers. Apart from Interest Subvention, Local and MSME filters have also been operationalised on GeM enabling all departments in J&K to procure Goods and Services from the local manufacturers.

Local and MSME filters can be used together for procurements made up to Rs. 5.00 lakh from local manufacturers. For purchases above Rs. 5.00 lakh, additional terms and conditions clause can be used by the departments for restricting procurement within a geographical limit, through the process of bidding on the GeM, said the Lt Governor.

Pertinently, it was one of the important components of the economic package announced by the Lt Governor for giving boost to local entrepreneurship.

To provide further impetus to business and ensure ease of doing business, Single Window Portal has been set up and online clearances introduced. Special desks have been created to address issues of youth and women entrepreneurs in J&K Bank. An unprecedented Industrial Package was also announced, besides industry friendly policies in 14 key sectors of the economy. Not only this, about 19000 youth including women have been provided financial assistance to start their own business ventures by J&K Bank, as a follow up of the announcement made by the Lt Governor during Back to Village-3 programme.

The Lt Governor said that in coming times, the Government will continue to take further steps to boost the economy of J&K and help people to overcome the difficulties with due attention to the Business Community.

Steps taken by the Government seem to be yielding positive results. Independent reports suggest that the unemployment rate in J&K has declined significantly. Further, if GST growth is taken as indicator of state of economy, J&K witnessed a relatively healthy growth of over 2.7 % during 2020-21, a sign of resilience of economy, he added.