Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Thursday sought immediate response from the government to a petition seeking effective preventive measures to combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Jammu and Kashmir.
The court sought the response by March 16. The petitioner, Azra Ismail, had asked for directions to authorities to formulate a policy by way of putting in place the infrastructure for comprehensive prevention, control and treatment of coronavirus. The petitioner had asked for special Fever Hospitals and isolated treatment centers managed by specially trained medical and para-medical staff to be set up.
The petitioner through his counsel Salih Pirzada and Faisal Qadri had also asked the government to provide facilities for conduct of all pathological tests and treatment free of cost, and that special screening system be set up at airports, bus and railway terminals across the Union Territory.
The division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajesh Bindal after hearing the petition today through video-conferencing issued notice to the Chief Secretary of J&K and called response from the officer concerned within four days.
In the meantime, Chief Justice Mittal and Justice Rajesh Bindal directed the government to place a copy of the response already filed in a similar matter pending at Jammu wing of the High Court with the instant matter. The court will hear both the matters on Tuesday, 17 March.
The petitioner had stated in his petition, “The local government is yet to come up with any concrete policy to combat the impeding outbreak of the disease. The hygienic condition of hospitals and primary health care centres continues to remain by and large dismal.”
The government on Wednesday in a presser had informed that 1,211 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under active surveillance; 150 of these have completed surveillance period of 28 days and 12 are under hospital quarantine.
The government informed that 64 samples of suspected cases have been sent for testing so far, of which 28 have reported negative, 1 has tested positive, and reports of 35 persons are awaited.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of the coronavirus a ‘Pandemic’. Chief of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.”
The deadly virus has so far claimed 4,607 lives with 124,518 cases reported in 118 countries as per World Health Organisation’s latest update.

NUSRAT SIDIQ