SRINAGAR: The medical experts Friday said that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has already entered into community transmission and now there is need to do mass testing.
Medical experts believe that getting a huge population of people back from different parts of the global especially those from affected areas has also led to a surge in number of positive cases here.
Talking exclusively to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Dr Nisar Ul Hassan, valley’s renowned Flu expert who is also associate professor medicine at GMC Srinagar said “we have entered into community transmission and it has already given several indications with people having no travel or contact history proving positive for Covid-19 and the death of Hajin man was an eye opener.”
He said when large number of people with no travel history to affected areas or country and having no contact history with a positive patient are detected positive is community transmission and it’s the matter of testing and most of the patients are asymptomatic.
Citing an example about the mandatory testing of pregnant women, he said the number of pregnant ladies tested positive have no contact or travel history to affected areas is a sign of community transmission.
He said the authorities are doing target testing only as of now after a person is detected positive. “It’s the matter of mass testing for authorities to learn that it’s community transmission, now by way of mass testing we will get to know the exact magnitude of the percent of population involved,” he said.
He said it is basically if we have 20 percent of the population affected, it’s called community transmission and for that authorities must go for mass testing. “Like mandatory mass testing of pregnant women, similarly it has to be done in community and not to test a selected number of people only.”
Citing an example of an early indicator of community transmission, Dr Nisar said the death of a Tangmarg patient with no travel or contact history was an alarm of community transmission, similarly, death of Hajin man was also an indicator and eye opener.
He said evacuation from India and other parts of global should have been done on day one but getting them back now has resulted in surge in number of cases. He also said that restrictions have to continue for some time and there should be no ease in restrictions until the cases decline as JK has already entered into community transmission.