Dharamshala: Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has cautioned the people of the State to remain alert against Covid-19 as this time the virus had come back with more strength and is more fatal. “The health experts had observed that after the advent of new variants of Corona, there were no traces of cough or fever and the patients were just complaining of joint pains, weakness, loss of appetite, and Covid-19 pneumonia. It was taking less time to get to extreme stage in comparison to the past and sometimes, there were even no symptoms. Therefore it was better to be careful than remaining unguarded and putting ourselves, family and the society in danger,” said Thakur.
The chief minister on Tuesday was presiding over a review meeting of the state of Corona Virus in Himachal Pradesh organized at the premises of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda.
He asked the health authorities, local administration and Local Panchayati Raj representatives to monitor patients in isolation and encourage the people to take precautionary measures in the fight against this deadly virus. He told the officials that No person should be allowed to walk without wearing a mask in public places. Without maintaining social distancing it was difficult to beat Corona. All the safety mantras given by the health authorities should be maintained.
Jai Ram Thakur directed the health authorities to enhance testing of Coronavirus in order to stop the community spread. He said that it had been seen that the new strain was not domiciled in our nasopharyngeal region and had been directly affecting the lungs, which means window periods were shortened.
The Chief Minister asked the health department to encourage the people to take a jab so that they were less affected by this fatal virus. He urged the people to be careful and avoid crowded places as far as possible and wear face masks all the time while being at public places and transport. The practice of frequent hand washing should be continued as it simply ensures health. He said that due to the negligence of the people the number of new cases had been increasing daily putting society in peril at large.
Earlier, Chief Medical Officer, Kangra Dr. Gurudarshan Gupta said that after the new strain hit of Coronavirus across the country, a number of patients were being seen without fever, but an x-ray report shows moderate chest pneumonia. It meant that the virus spreads directly to the lungs causing acute respiratory distress due to viral pneumonia. It simply explains why the new strain had become acute and more fatal. The new wave was more lethal than the first one and we should play safe by adopting the right health practices to beat this new unwanted guest.
Deputy Commissioner Chamba, D.C. Rana while interacting through video conference briefed about the Covid-19 scenario of Chamba district. He appealed to the people to become an alert communicator among friends and family and practice health advisory issued by the health authorities and administration.
Deputy Commissioner Kangra, Rakesh Prajapati, SP Vimukta Ranjan, Principal, Tanda Medical College Dr. Bhanu Awasthi and other senior officers were present on the occasion.
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
