Jammu, Apr 30 (IANS): Gearing up its testing capacity, J&K is on the threshold of carrying out 2,000 Covid-19 tests per day.
This was stated at a press conference on Thursday by Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary (planning and development).
Kansal said the spreading rate of the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly slowed down in Jammu and Kashmir, but there is no room for complacency and the situation demands extra watchfulness.
"We continue to have a number of red zones and we need to be ever alert and watchful. Premature exuberance or celebration can cost us very dearly," Kansal said at the press conference.
He also said the government will further strengthen the surveillance system.
"We are conducting a 100 per cent health audit for the entire J&K using the Swasthya Nidhi app and the process is likely to be completed within the next few weeks.
"We are strongly encouraging the use of the Aarogya Setu app. So far, more than 8 lakh users have installed the app in the UT," he informed.
Kansal laid emphasis on continuing self-restraint and observance of strict discipline.
"Our current position may appear to be comfortable, but let me remind you that we are dealing with an unpredictable and dangerous enemy," he said, adding that many neighbouring states have learnt the hard way.
"We too have a number of students and labourers stranded outside the UT who have started returning back home. There is no room for complacency," he said.
Giving details about the general control measures, he said as of this moment, the total number of cases in J&K is 614 of which the number of active cases is 390. Of this, 384 are in the Kashmir Division and 6 are in the Jammu division.
"As you are already aware, there have been 216 recoveries, which include young children, and we have also had 8 unfortunate deaths. Out of the 60,000 persons enlisted for surveillance, over 50,000 have completed the mandatory 28-day surveillance period.
On the overall Covid-19 situation, the UT has a good report card so far, he said.
"The daily positivity rate has shown a downward trend and the doubling rate of positive cases has decidedly slowed down," Kansal said.
He added that a report on Thursday morning has showed that the UT's testing rates continue to be among the highest, while "our percentage rise continues to be low resulting in high doubling rate which is over 12 days".
"Our mortality rate is just above 1 per cent, which is quite low given the number of cases. The most notable part is that over 92 per cent of the cases can be traced. All these are positive factors," he added.
Kansal also expressed gratitude to the people for their excellent cooperation in restricting movement during the lockdown.
"This has helped us to slow the spread of the virus and put in place a strong containment strategy," he said, adding that it has also helped gain valuable time for building the capacities such as 17 standalone/dedicated Covid-19 hospitals, over 20,000 isolation beds and nearly 50,000 non-hospital quarantine beds.