Amid a surge of COVID cases, Jammu hospitals prepare to fight against new variant

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 20 (ANI): As the Union Health Ministry has sounded a new alert for COVID, preparations to fight against the disease have been started in Jammu. In Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital, one of the major hospitals in the region, a COVID ward has been set up.
"There was a meeting(for COVID preparedness) yesterday (Tuesday) and instructions for getting prepared have already come," said Dr Dara Singh, Medical Superintendent, of Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital.
"We have already a designated COVID ward and we are preparing it. The testing lab is also in place and we have full facilities of oxygen with an oxygen plant already running. Oxygen concentrator and cylinders are also ready," he added.
He said that people should start following COVID-appropriate behaviours like wearing masks and using sanitisers to stop the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul on Wednesday asked fellow citizens not to panic about the new COVID-19 variant JN.1 and assured that the Centre is taking the necessary precautions to combat the new variant.
Speaking to the media, Dr VK Paul claimed that the new variant does not cause serious illness and the 16 deaths, which have been reported in the last week were the people with serious comorbidities.
"We must remember that COVID-19 has not gone till now, and the people need to be a little vigilant. The government needs to be prepared for everything and hence, the government is continuously focusing on the sequencing and surveillance work," he added.
"Centre has requested all states to increase the tests and make the citizens aware of the protocols. There is no need to panic because we all have been vaccinated," Paul said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the state health ministry has had a conversation with the Union Health Ministry over the rising number of cases and the state has been advised to maintain the essential health services.
"This variant has been here for around four months now and there is no need to panic. Karnataka is the highest right now in the whole country in number of tests," Gundu Rao said. (ANI)