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Dr Tasaduk Hussain Itoo, Chairman J & K Innovative Foundation for Transforming Society (JKIFTS) today appealed the people to follow administrative guidelines strictly and refrain from social gatherings and unnecessary visits to hospitals in view of Covid-19 Pandemic.
Talking to Kashmir Pen Dr Tasaduk said “Large events and mass gatherings may contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the communities through travellers who attend these events and might introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies. These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.”
He said that responsible institutions like World Health Organization, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention – who have been continuously researching and monitoring the Covid-19 pandemic, recommend to avoid large events and mass gatherings for few weeks and advice the organizers (whether groups or individuals) to cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more.
He further said that CDC also recommends that events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing but if feasible, organizers could modify such events to later dates.
Keeping in view the standard of prevailing system in the erstwhile state, he said that organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses that have been already closed by local authorities are a crucial step at this time to combat the spread of Covid-19.
He said that people should follow the necessary guidelines and restrictions adopted time and again by local administration in letter and spirit with an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus.
He further added that local governments cum administration or public health officials in these times of Coronavirus scare have an important role to play in combating this crisis.
With regard to the religious gatherings, Dr Tasaduk said that our religious scholars should take due cognizance of the crisis and accordingly design guidelines to the people to combat the ongoing pandemic.
