DoNER minister Jitendra Singh disclosed on Tuesday that Jammu & Kashmir’s Corona testing capacity has increased to over 350 samples per day.
“This is a major achievement because, till about two to three weeks back, there was the facility of testing hardly 50 samples a day,” he said.
After a detailed audio- interaction regarding Corona healthcare facilities in J&K, the Minister lauded the Union Territory government of Jammu & Kashmir, particularly the health authorities, for bringing about a major upsurge in their Corona care and prevention capacity during the lockdown period.
He complimented the health administration and the dedicated team of UT’s medical professionals.
He also appreciated Financial Commissioner, Health, J&K, Atal Dulloo for his diligent follow-up and close coordination with Central Government authorities.
The DoNER minister further explained that one of the reasons for faster detection is comparatively larger numbers is that earlier there was the constraint of being able to send just about 50 samples a day for Corona, which has now increased seven to eight times within a few days.
“Compared to many other states and UTs, J&K has been faster in upgrading its health infrastructure to meet the sudden challenge that emerged in the form of corona pandemic,” he said.
“For example, the number of isolation beds has increased from 1533 to 2372 beds and there are 1689 additional beds in the pipeline,” he added.
He further informed that Jammu & Kashmir was among the first to set up dedicated COVID hospitals, the number of which has now increased to 17.
“The number of ICU beds designated for COVID patients has also been increased from 25 to 209,” Singh said.