Jammu: Continuing his efforts to reach the aggrieved people of Gandhi Nagar constituency
facing the serious brunt of Covid-19 second wave, JKPCC Vice President and former Minister
Raman Bhalla on Saturday visited Gorakhnagar to listen to their grievances. 
Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla expressed serious concern over the first death in Jammu due
to Mucormycosis also known as Black fungus infection which is a serious, rare, and fatal fungal
infection that has been existing in patients with diabetes and weak immune system. 
He appealed Govt to ensure the assured supply of essential medicines for the treatment of
mucormycosis (black fungus) and cost-free care to those affected. He also pointed out that the
illness is not covered under Ayushman Bharat and most other health insurance plans and
sought immediate action on the issue. He said the government had asked states to declare
mucormycosis an epidemic under the Epidemic Diseases Act. This would mean that there must
be adequate production and assured supply of essential medicines to treat it, and cost-free
patient care for those in need of treatment, he added. 
Liposomal Amphotericin-B is essential for the treatment of Mucormycosis. However,
there are reports of its acute scarcity in the market," Bhalla said. He urged the people to strictly
adhere to COVID-19 restrictions being implemented to prevent the spread of the disease.  He
demanded strict measures like Public Discipline Fortnight, Pandemic Red Alert, and Public
Discipline Lockdown' by the government to stop the spread of the virus to get deserving results,
but the infection rate and mortality rate are still worrying. " In such a situation, we have to
maintain restraint and discipline in social behavior continuously, besides following the lockdown
more strictly. Only then will we be able to reduce the danger of COVID-19," he said. Bhalla
cautioned Patients with uncontrolled diabetes are at high risk of contracting COVID. When this
happens, they are treated with steroids which further compromise their immunity. Doctors in
India hold that steroids, which are used as a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill
COVID patients can prove to be a trigger for mucormycosis. While steroids help in reducing
inflammation in the lungs, they can also decrease immunity and increase blood sugar levels in
both diabetics and non-diabetic covid-19 patients alike. Bhalla said the euphoria at beating the
virus had been building since late last year. Politicians, policymakers, and parts of the media
believed that India was truly out of the woods. India is now in the grips of a public health
emergency.