NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said that the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) has emerged as good as Kerala state in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Complementing the medical fraternity of the UT, the Minister said that Junior Resident doctors and medical officers played a major role in the fight as they directly dealt with patients for effectively fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

"India has emerged as one of the frontline nations of the world to combat COVID-19 and Jammu has emerged as good as Kerala state in fighting the pandemic," Singh said.

He said that the government was very concerned for the safety of the medical and healthcare workers for which it implemented an ordinance for their protection.

On the UTs request for augmenting the availability of standardised Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and other equipment, the minister said that they will be getting regular supply of PPE and testing kits for the coronavirus.

Singh expressed his views while reviewing the preparedness of Jammu in combating COVID-19 virus. The review was held through a video conference with senior Jammu officers, heads of government medical institutions and colleges.