Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu today made a fervent appeal to the people of the Union Territory, especially in the Valley, to wear masks and maintain social distancing as Covid-19 cases have swelled in the past 15 days.
In a video message, the LG Murmu that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Janta Curfew across India, the J&K administration also followed the same model and implemented lockdown for almost two months. “The lockdown helped us contain the spread of virus and the situation was under control to a large extent and we managed to prevent the spread of pandemic,” he said.
He said since Unlock-2 on July 1, there has been a spurt in the Covid-19 positive cases and every day, there is a surge in the positive cases. “I want to appeal to the people of J&K, especially Kashmir to follow announcements made by the UT government and to follow the guidelines. Whenever there is a change in guidelines, we put the same before the public,” he said. The J&K LG said that there are certain ways that can help people save themselves from the pandemic.
“When you come out of the house, wear a mask and follow guidelines in letter and spirit. I urge people to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. If people don’t follow the guidelines, cases will shoot up further,” he said.
He said economic activities are also a must and keeping that in view, the UT administration has announced some relaxations. “But there are many hotspots in Kashmir where Covid-19 danger is alive and has not subsided yet. I reiterate that guidelines have to be followed in spirit as that’s good for the administration and also good for the people of J&K, especially Kashmir,” he said.
The LG’s appeal to the people comes at a time when J&K is witnessing a spurt in both, Covid-19 related deaths and positive cases as well. The LG’s appeal also coincides with the alert issued by the senior medicos who have already termed the prevailing situation in the Valley as grim.
In the past two weeks, Kashmir has recorded four to five Covid deaths every day while 400 to 500 positive cases are reported on an average every single day in J&K, majority of them from Kashmir. Earlier, Covid patients were asymptomatic and now the majority of the patients who test positive have bilateral pneumonia and need oxygen support to breathe freely.
-ARK
