Prepare strategy to tackle 'imminent' third wave of Covid, Farooq Abdullah tells J-K admn

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Friday urged the Jammu and Kashmir administration to come up with a multi-fold strategy to tackle the "imminent" third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, the Srinagar MP also stressed that vaccination is the only bulwark against the third wave.

"I hope the incumbent administration is ready to tackle the imminent third wave because they have learnt their lessons from the first and second Covid wave, which had battered Jammu and Kashmir. I hope the imminent third wave is not treated casually," Abdullah said.

"There are other measures that the JK administration must immediately tend to besides ensuring inoculation (administration) of booster doses... to protect especially those who have comorbidities, who are immunocompromised and healthcare workers," he added.

Health infrastructure and oxygen production are other areas that should be given extra attention, the NC president said. "Stringent actions to detect, treat and reduce the transmission of the virus should also be part of the road map to curb the sprawl of this deadly disease," Abdullah said.

Jammu and Kashmir's COVID-19 caseload increased to 3,52,623 on Friday as 2,456 more people tested positive for the viral disease, while the death toll climbed to 4,557 with five fresh fatalities, according to officials. There are 10,003 active COVID-19 cases in the union territory, the officials said.