Declare lockdown for two more weeks, Narayana Hospital as COVID-19 Centre: Jammu Bar

STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Jammu on Wednesday demanded lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir for two more weeks and declaration of Narayana Hospital Katra as designated COVID-19 Hospital-cum Quarantine Centre.
The office bearers of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association Jammu, held a meeting under the Chairmanship of its President Advocate Abhinav Sharma to discuss the seriousness of the coronavirus and exponential rise in cases of COVID-19 deaths in the Union Territory of J&K, combined with it, insufficient medical institutions designated for the purpose and lack of facilities for the patients in those institutions and also insufficient measures taken by he Administration. Taking note of total confirmed cases of COVID-19 infected persons surging to 55,325 in UT of J&K, with more than 900 deaths, the deadly disease has taken a turn for the worst and it is feared that cases have spiked due to community transmission and particularly in Jammu Division of J&K UT, which has during the last few days / weeks noticed exponential rise in the positive cases and more deaths per day than in the valley of Kashmir.
The Association is seriously concerned about the insufficient infrastructure, medical officers, paramedical staff and sanitization in the so called premier medical institutes, i.e. Govt. Medical College, Jammu, Govt. Medical College, Srinagar and hospitals associates with these two Medical Colleges, Chest Disease Hospital Jammu, District Hospital Gandhi Nagar, Psychiatric Hospital Jammu and few other COVID-19 designated institutions which are not able to cope up with the rush of rising positive cases, and most of time, the suspected positive cases enter the Govt. Medical Institutions, they are not being attended to properly due to aforesaid insufficiencies.
The Association has taken it very seriously that even the lives of medicos, para medicos and health workers are not safe in the medical institutions which are available in UT of J&K, therefore, U.T Administration is required to immediately and forthwith upgrade the existing COVID-19 designated institutions and to create more such institutions in order to save the lives of doctors, para medicos and health workers and in particular the poor strata of the society, who have no say in the corridors of the power and are left at the mercy of almighty.
The Association, a representative body of responsible and educated citizens and legal fraternity, is concerned about the worsening Covid-19 condition and demanded that in order to contain the disease, all the private hospitals existing in the U.T of J&K, specially in Jammu Division and in particular the Narayana Hospital Katra be declared as Administrative Quarantine Centre/ designate COVID- 19 hospital and be opened and available to the general public as well, instead of accommodating only the VVIPs, inasmuch as, even poor citizen has a fundamental right to life which is enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which does not create a distinction between a poor and a rich / VVIP.
The impression gathered by the general public that the Narayana Hospital is meant to accommodate only rich and VVIPs is required to be dispelled with by the Administration, by opening up this Institution to the public at large at this critical hour of history.
The Association considered the predictions by some health experts and organizations that things will worsen in the coming days and weeks, therefore, J&KHCBA, Jammu demands that the Administration of J&K UT should seriously think of imposing yet another lockdown for the purpose of regulating the existing quarantine centres which are at present totally unregulated; enabling the administration / management of existing medical institutions to regulate those institutions within the available strength of medical officers, paramedical staff and health workers and in the meanwhile, during that lockdown, more quarantine centres in the form of Administrative Quarantine Centres are required to be created by way of an official order declaring maximum private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics as Administrative Quarantine Centres to accommodate Covid-19 positive cases and in particular those who belong to poor strata of the society and are forced to get admitted only in Govt. Hospital, where they are not attended to properly as is widely claimed by the media.