Dedicated hospitals to treat coronavirus patients in Leh and Kargil have been made functional from Monday, the administration announced. Dr Tashi Motup and Dr Abdul Jalil would be in-charge of the dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in Leh and Kargil respectively, Commissioner/Secretary Health UT Ladkah Rigzin Samphel said in a press conference. Samphel said officials of Rapid Reaction Team from Delhi visited Leh to review COVID-19 preparations. During their survey, the officials visited the containment area of Chuchot Gongma, interacted with the family members of the patients, reviewed the arrangements of police and other departments. They also met the three patients under hospital quarantine who had recovered from COVID-19. The officials’ report appreciates the documentation and overall preparation in regards to COVID-19, he stated. The process to stock medical equipment to carry on for up to three months and bettering the medical facilities in regards to COVID-19 has begun, the official said. Nodal Officer for Ladakhi students outside UT Ladakh Sumera Shafi had received about 127 calls and about 16 mails from students in Aligarh, Banglore, Delhi, J&K, Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Nagpur, Roorkee and Dehradoon and patients with their grievances, he said. The students are advised to remain in their respective hostels/rental spaces and to first contact the nodal officer or the designated Liaison Officer of their regions for any query, Samphel said. He further said that they can contact Shafi on 8447523725. Responding to a query on wrong information on total count of 16 positive cases in Ladakh, Samphel reaffirmed that initially there were 13 positive cases out of which three patients had recovered and are under hospital quarantine. There are 10 active positive cases in Ladakh, he said. He appealed to the people to visit the official Department of Health & Family Welfare of the Union Health Ministry for correct data. He also sought cooperation from all sections of the region including rural areas of Ladakh to make the lockdown successful by staying at home. Meanwhile, in order to ensure sanitisation of Leh town, the district administration through the municipal committee carried out sanitisation of various places such as Raj Niwas, Chief Medical Office, Police Station, all bank ATM kiosks at Leh Main Bazaar to Skalzangling, general stores, government offices by spraying Sodium Hypochlorite.
