As the unprecedented rise in the no of coronavirus positive cases is intensifying the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic spread across Jammu & Kashmir and more so in Kashmir valley day after day, the government is yet to intensify measures for increasing testing rate in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir valley. Though heath specialists believe that institutional collaboration and coordination between the government run hospitals and private nursing homes would have increased the testing rate but the health and medical education department presently headed by Financial Commissioner Health & Medical Education Attal Daloo has not taken any decision on institutional collaboration and coordination between the government run hospitals and the private nursing homes for the purposes of increasing the testing rate in Kashmir valley. Unfortunately the Financial Commissioner Health & Medical examination is taking stock of the infrastructural arrangements only in Jammu region where the no of positive cases is very low but he is yet to take stock of the infrastructural arrangements in Valley from where more than 90% of the total cases have been reported so for. So for barely 10,000 suspects have been let off from the quarantine centres after completing the quarantine period but still over 50,000 suspects are under observation in quarantine centres and majority of them have travel history besides having extensive links with the community infection chains. For breaking the community infection chains the government has to increase the no of testing facility centres across Kashmir.
Since the expert medical opinions have made it imperative for the government to take immediate measures for fast sampling and rapid mass testing, the increase in the testing facility centres is the only way to break the community infection chain and bring down the unprecedented rise in the no of positive cases across Jammu & Kashmir and more so in valley where the no of positive cases is increasing alarmingly with every passing day.
Presently just four government laboratories are operating for testing samples of COVID-19 patients, but the demand for increasing the testing facility centres is rising day after day due to continuing spurt in the no of positive cases. Keeping in view the fact that a 61-year old woman form Udhampur district who died due to local infection had no travel history, the initiatives for rapid mass testing are must for knowing the intensity of the community infection chain both in Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu division. Since the expert medical opinions have made it imperative for the government to take immediate measures for fast sampling and rapid mass testing, the increase in the testing facility centres is the only way to break the community infection chain and bring down the unprecedented rise in the no of positive cases across Jammu & Kashmir and more so in valley where the no of positive cases is increasing alarmingly with every passing day.