Jammu, Dec 20: Secretary Health and Medical Education (HME), Bhupinder Kumar Wednesday reviewed the COVID-19 situation and preparedness of public health system across J&K particularly in light of the recent advisory issued by the Union Health Ministry concerning the emergence of a new variant, JN.1.
During the meeting, the Secretary directed all stakeholders to take proactive measures to ensure full preparedness to handle any potential scenarios. He asked all the HODs and Chief Medical Officers to activate COVID-19 testing facilities, conduct ample testing following the Revised Surveillance Strategy, and meticulously report ILI (Influenza-like Illness) and SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection) cases while adhering to recommended testing protocols.
The State Surveillance Officers (SSO) of Jammu and Kashmir briefed the Secretary on the previously conducted mock drills in health institutions and the data collected.
During the meeting, directions were issued to all stake holders to conduct gap analysis regarding the logistics for testing, treating and contact tracing. The Secretary also directed for raising timely demands for logistics like testing kits, drugs, PPE kits and others with MD JKMSCL.
He also asked them to strengthen Community Based Surveillance for early detection on unusual events in the community. All the HODs were advised to do mock drills regularly for checking the functioning of Oxygen generation plants by the Secretary.
During the meeting, Bhupinder Kumar laid emphasis on reassessing the readiness of all facilities to ensure operational preparedness. He directed the officers to review the availability of medicines and other essential supplies in advance to ensure that everything is in place at the grassroots level should the need arise.
