Making all efforts to ensure safety of health workers: Jammu and Kashmir govt

Hours after five doctors in three hospitals in Srinagar tested positive for COVID-19, J&K government on Monday said they are taking all efforts to ensure safety of the healthcare professionals dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Three doctors from the SMHS, one from SKIMS Medical College Hospital and one from Dental College tested positive for the disease late Sunday night. Most of them had come in close contact with a COVID-19 patient of Srinagar who died on Sunday.

So far 21 health care workers, including 13 doctors, have been infected with COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir since the first case was reported on March 7.

An official spokesperson said that the government has been regularly issuing guidelines and ensuring its implementation for use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) by the healthcare professionals, while dealing with the COVID-19 suspects / patients.

The healthcare professionals are being regularly trained through video conferencing, webinar, Zoom app, etc. regarding the use of PPEs and their protection from the COVID infection, he said. Most of the doctors and other healthcare professionals have been trained in using PPE kits while dealing with COVID-19 positive patients.

Union Territory of J&K is ensuring that all the supplies required for the personal protection of healthcare professionals are not only provided to each and every healthcare institution, but sufficient stocks are also maintained, so as to ensure that there is no shortage of supplies, the spokesperson added.

Giving details of stocks, he said, at present 83,110 PPE kits, 94,221 N-95 masks, 9,79,168 triple layer masks, 1,87,360 sanitizers and 1,31,975 viral transport media (VTM) are available for use in Health and Medical Education Department, J&K.