By Yadvinder S.Rana :
SHIMLA- The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated the efforts of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur for effectively undertaking Active Case Finding (ACF) Campaign in Himachal Pradesh which has helped in the screening of the whole population of the State for Influenza-Like Illness symptoms. Modi also urged all the States to follow Himachal Pradesh in this initiative to combat the pandemic of Coronavirus.
Thakur urged the Prime Minister to provide an adequate number of ventilators to meet out any eventuality. He said that manufacturing in pharma units in the State has started and was meeting out the requirements of the country as well as the world. He said that almost 80 percent of pharma was in MSME Sector, therefore the union government should provide all possible help to ensure a smooth supply of chemical and raw material.
He has also apprised the prime minister about the setting up of Task Force to restart economic activities in the State. He said that the State was endeavoring to start economic activities within the State. He said that Himachal Pradesh was a tourist State as lakhs of domestic and foreign tourists visit the State every year. He said that the Corona pandemic has completely ruined the tourism industry in the State. He said that similarly, apple plays a vital role in the economy of the State. He said that there was an urgent need to ensure an adequate supply of carton boxes and also a better facility for smooth transportation of apple.
Presently the state has recorded 40 people positive out of which 25 persons have been discharged after being found negative. In addition to this, four persons have gone for treatment outside the State and one person has died. He said that the remaining 10 persons were under treatment in the hospitals of the State. He said that no case of coronavirus has been reported during the last five days from any part of the State.
Since six districts of the state were in the green zone and not even a single case of coronavirus has been reported in these districts, said Thakur. So far the testing rate for CORONA in the state, he said that the testing ratio of the State was 700 per million of the population which was one of the highest in the country. He said that the Active Case Finding Campaign was a unique program under which 70 lakh population was checked for Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) with a team of 16,000 officials including Asha workers, Anganwadi, paramedics and police and all ILI patients were being tested for corona.
Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Director General of Police S.R. Mardi, Additional Chief Secretary Home Manoj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Health R.D. Dhiman, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sanjay Kundu, Secretary I &PR Rajneesh, Principal Private Secretary to Chief Minister Vinay Singh and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.