DW BUREAU / sHimla HP Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while addressing the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and Chief Medical Officers through video conferencing from Shimla today directed them to ensure that doctors and other para medical staff involved in treatment of Covid-19 patients use complete protection against the virus. The Chief Minister said that asymptomatic patients should be kept in home isolation. He said that health workers should regularly visit such patients for their medical check up. He said that better quarantine facility must also be provided for doctors and other para medical staff. He said that industrial units must be asked to create their own quarantine facilities with a minimum 10 per cent of total strength of their employees. He said that small industrial units must be encouraged to create such facilities by pooling. Jai Ram Thakur said till date 214182 people had been tested for corona virus out of which 6116 had been found corona positive. He said that cases per lakh in Himachal Pradesh were 87.3 as compared to national average of 267.7 cases per lakh. He said that death rate in Himachal Pradesh was 0.58 per hundred cases which was quite low as compared to national average of 1.7 per hundred Covid-19 cases. The Chief Minister said that the Central Government has provided 500 ventilators, 1.60 lakh PPE kits and over 3 lakh N-95 masks to the State for effectively fighting Covid-19 pandemic. He said that people accompanying patients and students/candidates, who need to move in and out of the State due to competitive examinations, their movement may be facilitated by waiving off the condition of quarantine, if they exit or re-enter the State or vice versa within a period of 72 hours. Jai Ram Thakur said that State Government was contemplating to open temples in the State soon for which SOP would be prepared to facilitate the devotees. He said that Deputy Commissioners have been directed to simplify the process of entry to the State but at the same time the process of e-pass would remain in force. He said that the Government was ensuring that development in the State does not affect due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Chief Minister said that the life of virus during the rainy season as per medical experts is longer, thus greater caution must be adopted to check the corona pandemic. He said that effective steps must be taken to check spread of the virus amongst the corona warriors like doctors, paramedical staff, police and sanitary workers. (editor@dailyworld.in)