WINTER WATCH | Battling flu and monitoring COVID, Kashmir hospitals gear up

Srinagar, Dec 27: Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in different parts of the country, the Health Department Wednesday advised people to remain cautious and follow COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB).

As per the doctors, “The COVID-19 cases in Kashmir are very less compared to the other parts of the country and that J&K is still in a safe zone.”

According to the official data accessed by Greater Kashmir, from October to December, at least 16 COVID-19 cases were registered and admitted at SKIMS hospital.

At the Chest Disease (CD) Hospital, Srinagar, over 900 cases of patients infected with the Influenza virus were registered every month.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Medical Superintendent of SKIMS, Dr Farooq Jan told Greater Kashmir that they received 16 cases of COVID-19 infection.

“All these 16 patients were admitted to the hospital. We do not have many cases at SKIMS. We are still in a safe zone,” he said.

Meanwhile, Medical Superintendent of Chest Disease (CD) Hospital, Saleem Tak told Greater Kashmir that they had not received COVID-19 cases in the hospital so far.

He said that influenza was very common in Kashmir and on average, 900 cases of patients infected with the Influenza virus were registered monthly.

“We receive 30 influenza patients daily. This hospital was a designated COVID-19 hospital. So, we are ready all the time. If we receive COVID-19-positive patients, we have all the facilities. Mock drills will also be conducted next week,” he said.

The hospital authorities said that people should not panic but wear masks and maintain hygiene and social distancing.

“We have to remain cautious and monitor the situation. Our hospitals have sufficient oxygen facilities and bed capacity,” they said.

Medical Superintendent of SMHS Hospital, Dr Muzaffar Zargar told Greater Kashmir Kashmir was stable as there were no COVID-19 cases registered so far.

He said that the hospital was testing the patients continuously but there were more cases of influenza than COVID-19.

“Patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 were registered and they were treated in the OPD, there was no need to admit them,” Dr Zargar said.

He said that patients, especially those who have comorbidities, should wear masks and avoid gatherings. “People should follow COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour," Dr Zargar said.

The Centre has advised all states to implement tighter public health measures to minimise transmission of the COVID-19 virus, following a rise in infections in some states, particularly Kerala.

While India's total COVID-19 cases witnessing an uptick with hundreds of new infections, a more worrisome trend emerged with those testing positive for the recently discovered JN.1 sub-variant.