JAMMU: The government on Sunday informed that 2,157 persons who had contact with suspected coronavirus cases have been put under surveillance in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the daily Media Bulletin on novel coronavirus (COVID-19), 1,829 persons are under home quarantine and 29 persons are in hospital quarantine while 131 persons are under home surveillance.
The Bulletin said that 101 samples have been sent for testing, of which 87 have been tested as negative and only two cases have tested positive so far, while the reports of 12 cases are awaited. Meanwhile, 168 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period.
According to the Bulletin, home quarantined persons and their family members are requested to cooperate with the local surveillance teams/ health authorities and strictly follow the guidelines for home quarantine issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI.
Public in general has been requested to strengthen surveillance mechanism by making self-declaration about their foreign travel history to local health authorities. “Moreover all social, religious and political organizations are urged to avoid large gatherings,” reads the advisory.
Medical masks, according to the advisory should not be used by healthy persons who are not having any symptoms because it creates false sense of security that can lead to neglecting other essential measures such as washing of hands. “In fact, erroneous use of masks or continuous use of a disposable mask for longer than 6 hours or repeated use of same mask may actually increase risk of getting infection.”
Stressing on social distancing, the advisory urged people not to panic and avoid unnecessary travel, use of public transport; avoid crowded places and large gatherings. “People must take basic precautions for personal hygiene; frequent hand washing with soap & water; and observing coughing & sneezing etiquettes. If anyone has fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, seek medical care at the earliest.”
To avoid any misinformation, people are urged to rely only on the information released by the government through the daily media bulletin to print and electronic media.

KR Desk