Daily cases are over 2,000, but officials paint a rosy picture, say there’s no shortage of medicines and oxygen.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a steep rise in Covid-19 cases with the health infrastructure showing signs of crumbling under the weight of cases.
From the past few days, the daily average cases are more than 2,000 and the administration is saying that they are prepared to deal with the situation even if cases increase in the next 10 days.
On Friday alone, official figures of Jammu and Kashmir were 1,937 fresh Covid-19 cases, with 19 people dying because of this virus in different hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir.
Financial commissioner health Atal Dullo told the media that there is no shortage of any medicine for Covid patients and also claimed that they have sufficient bed and oxygen available across Jammu and Kashmir.
But social media platforms are showing a different picture about the emerging scenario in Kashmir as the second wave of Covid-19 is increasing. Recently, superintendent Government Medical College (GMC) hospital Baramulla, wrote on social media that social organizations and people at their own level should arrange oxygen facilities in their localities, as, according to him, a disastrous wave was on its way in Kashmir. He predicted that the healthcare system would be overloaded soon. His post was widely shared and it alarmed people to a great extent in Kashmir valley and the government has assured that there was no need to panic and they were prepared for this challenge.
In order to allay fears of the common people, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P.K. Pole told the media that only 30% of the 1,500 Covid beds available in level 1 and level 2 health facilities in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir were occupied so far.
A senior government official told this newspaper that they were preparing more beds for the possible Covid wave in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that recently in Baramulla district of North Kashmir, they have made a 100-bed facility operational in an indoor stadium. He said that similar steps were taken in other parts of Kashmir also.
The official claim that everything is hunky-dory does not match with the ground realities in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir, A few days back, superintendent, Government Medical College (GMC) hospital Anantnag in South Kashmir, said that his hospital has no vacant ICU bed for Covid patients. Similarly, A.G. Ahanger, Director SKIMS, told the media that Remdesivir injection used to treat severe cases was running short for the past several days. Most of the senior doctors who are working in Covid designated hospitals in Srinagar said that very soon, they will fail to take the load of patients. They also contested the claim of financial commissioner, health that medicines and oxygen along with beds were available. “We have no ICU beds available as on Friday. We are also running short of many medicines. The load of patients is increasing and very soon, it would be a dangerous situation for all of us,” a senior doctor serving in the Covid designated hospital of Srinagar said on the condition of anonymity.